RuPaul Drags Down Ratings

TVNZ 2 is relegating RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under to a later slot on Saturday nights.

From this weekend, the series will screen after the late movie rather than before it. That means 10.35 instead of 8.55, where Jackass 3.5 will air instead.

How poorly is season three performing? In the 25-54 demographic on Saturday, it averaged fewer viewers than the movie that followed it, Jackass 3D (8,726), as well as five o’clock comedy Call Me Kat (8,036).

Even a raft of TVNZ 2’s daytime shows were more popular in this core commercial demo.

This was despite TVNZ 2’s 7pm movie, Johnny English Strikes Again, averaging 44,878 viewers vs 30,937 for Three’s Bend It Like Beckham at the same time. But opposite RuPaul, Three’s movie Step Brothers averaged 14,584 viewers aged 25-54.

At 8.35 on TVNZ 1, Build Your Dream Home in the Country averaged 31,040 and lead-out The Bay 12,973.

Of course, the ratings of the major networks were skewed by Prime’s live FIFA coverage helping the channel to average the night’s second highest 25-54 share: 13.75% vs 19.93% for TVNZ 1, 12.43% for Three and only 8.09% for TVNZ 2.

The final FIFA match aired Sunday on Prime, but in a later slot, which still bolstered the channel’s 25-54 share, albeit not by nearly so much, to 7.79.

TVNZ 1 scored 30.64, TVNZ 2 17.95 and Three 13.48.