HDTV Ratings: Underbelly 3 Rubs Out Rivals

TV3’s HD premiere of Underbelly: The Golden Mile won its time slot in key demographics on Wednesday but didn’t exactly blow away the competition.

The double-episode drew 9.6% of TV3’s target audience, 18-49 year-olds, to claim a 26.6% channel share, compared to FlashForward’s 6.6 rating/17.3 share on TV2 and Packed to the Rafters’ 8.2 rating/21.3 share on TV One.

Underbelly’s debut wasn’t as popular as TV3’s Comedy Gala the previous week, and didn’t dent the viewership of TV2’s struggling sci-fi show or TV One’s Ocker favourite, but was up on the season finale of time slot predecessor Lie to Me (8.5 rating/23 share).

NZ Herald reviewer Deborah Hill Cone thought the narrative “not as strong as the first two Underbellies, although odd moments of comedy are a relief” and dubbed the cops “cartoonish in their corruption” before concluding: “Underbelly is a fine piece of television and I wish we could do something similar here.”