HDTV Ratings: November 8-11

Arnold Schwarzenegger proved to be the networks’ biggest action hero over the weekend.

His guest stint, alongside Miranda Hart (pictured) and Ronnie Corbett, on the season 12 premiere of The Graham Norton Show pumped up the chat show’s ratings to their highest levels in months and he also had a cameo in Sunday’s top-rating network premiere of The Expendables.

Norton averaged 9.4% – 13.7% of the major demographics, making it twice as popular as TV2’s first hour of The Voice and, off the back of The X Factor USA (6.4% – 10.2%), helped TV3 to win the night.

The Expendables (10.0% – 12.9%) won its two-hour slot against the HD competition on TV One and TV3.

Even so, Nothing Trivial’s penultimate episode rated higher than usual (6.8% – 11.2%) and Offspring was up, too (3.6% – 7.9%).

The big loser was TV3’s re-run of Notting Hill, which averaged only 4.3% – 6.0%.

The highest rating hour of the night was NZ’s Got Talent, which averaged 10.9%  -18.3%, while TV2’s new HD sitcom, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, rated 5.4% – 7.9%, which was well up on the previous week’s The War at Home.

The 7pm re-run of The Big Bang Theory largely won the half-hour (10.3% – 10.8%) whereas the 8pm re-run lost to Talent (8.1% – 8.75).

Saturday’s On the Grill went off the boil for its second episode (2.3% – 3.6%) but HD rival Annabel Langbein The Free Range Cook: Simple Pleasures was also down (2.7% – 5.6%).

However, CSI: NY and Miami had a strong night: the former averaged 3.5% – 6.6% and the latter, 3.3% – 6.1%.

Meanwhile, TV One’s faith in Person of Interest’s re-runs is starting to be rewarded, with Thursday’s episode averaging 3.0% – 6.0% compared to 2.0% – 3.8% the previous week.

Rove LA also rebounded, with ratings of 4.2% – 4.7%, following ratings of 7.3% – 8.4% for The X Factor USA opposite 9.3% – 16.1% for the season finale of Motorway Patrol.