TV3’s rescheduling of Monday night’s X Factor NZ paid off, with the ratings up sharply on the previous week’s season low.

The first live results show averaged 9.6% – 10.3% of the major demographics compared to 6.8% – 8.5% a week earlier.

Although this was no match for My Kitchen Rules (15.9% – 23.6%), with which X Factor went head-to-head, it was a better outcome than overlapping the first half of the talent quest with the second half of Shortland Street (17.1% – 25.5%) would have delivered.

TV3 maintained its momentum with an HD re-run of Transporter 2 averaging 7.3% – 8.5% to win its slot after the first half-hour, during which The Big Bang Theory trounced it in every key demo.

TV One’s The Following ended its run with an above-average 4.5% – 6.7% rating, on the back of Criminal Minds’ 4.5% – 8.8%.

MasterChef averaged 10.2% – 13.7%, which was up on the previous week’s 8.1% – 12.0%, and X Factor, over its two-hour broadcast, 11.2% – 14.4%, which was consistent with a week earlier.

In the hour the two went head-to-head, MasterChef was more popular with adults 18-49 and 25-54 and X Factor won outright in the 18-39 and household shopper demos.

However, TV3’s inexplicable movie programming — a re-run of the 10-year-old comedy Just Married – sparked a mass exodus to TV2’s HD rival, Red Riding Hood.

It averaged 8.3% – 9.6% compared to Just Married’s 5.1% – 6.7% while TV One’s Packed to the Rafters rated a solid 5.0% – 9.6%.

TV2’s Saturday HD re-run of I Am Legend won its slot in all the key demos (6.9% – 11.2%) opposite CSI (4.8% – 7.2%) and CSI: NY (4.4% – 5.3%).

A 7.30 re-run of Monday’s X Factor rated a surprisingly competitive 3.3% – 4.2% against MasterChef MasterClass’ 3.1% – 5.4% and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway’s 4.4% – 5.1%.

And proving a big lure at 5.30 is The ITM Fishing Show, which easily coasted to a win in all the chief demos (4.7% – 5.5%).

But TV3 had a nightmare night on Friday, when its HD light-ent line-up hit a new low for the year against TV2’s The Voice Australia.

The latter averaged 10.0% – 12.9% while Modern Family and The New Normal were in the 2.2% – 3.9% range.

But the biggest shock was The Graham Norton Show’s 2.9% – 3.8% while lead-out Steve and Ben World Famous In … didn’t score much better, with 3.3% – 4.4%.

On Thursday, TV3’s first HD season of Chelsea NZ’s Hottest Home Baker finished third in the 7.30 hour (3.8% – 7.1%) and Bones at 8.30 out-rated Once Upon a Time among adults 18-49 and 25-54, drew with adults 18-39 and lost with HHS.

Saturday

Trade Zone Gone Fishin’ (TV3, 5.00)

ITM Fishing Show (TV3, 5.30)

Country Calendar (TV One, 7.00)

MasterChef MasterClass (TV One, 7.30)

Network Movie Premiere: Tron: Legacy (TV2, 7.00, 5.1)

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (TV3, 8.30, 5.1)

CSI: New York (TV3, 9.30, 5.1)

Castle will return to its 9.30 Monday slot on TV One, picking up from where the fourth season left off.

It opens the morning after Richard Castle and Kate Beckett’s romantic rendezvous, and while their new relationship will be a feature of the series, the focus of the premiere will be elsewhere.

“The writers have put the rest of the show on steroids, quickening the pace and ratcheting up the action and tension,” New York Daily News critic David Hinckley says.

“Specifically, they dive deeper into Kate’s obsession with finding who murdered her mother …

“There is no murder of the week. It’s all about Kate and the shadowy lethal forces she has triggered by her relentless pursuit.

“While this focus at times approaches a ‘perils of Pauline’ level of melodrama, with a showdown that pushes the credibility envelope, it’s fun to watch.”

The free-to-air HD premiere of Tron: Legacy will screen in TV2’s 7.00 Saturday Family Blockbuster slot while overnight the network will repeat in HD, from 2am, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

TV3 will repeat late-night Sunday the movie Away We Go and on Monday, Hitman, which will screen at 9.00 because of the later start for The X Factor NZ.

There also will be another chance to see the first and only season of Unforgettable from Monday (TV One, 11.00) and the first season of The Big C overnight from Friday (TV3, 12.15) while Elizabeth Banks will guest star on Tuesday’s Modern Family (TV3, 7.30) and Daniel Radcliffe on Friday’s Graham Norton Show (TV3, 8.30).

Episode two of TV3’s widely acclaimed HD commission Harry was skewered by episode two of TV2’s new HD hit, Arrow.

The latter delivered spectacular ratings for the 9.30 hour, averaging 9.2% – 12.2% of the major demographics.

That was 2-3 times the viewership of Harry, which averaged only 4.0% – 4.9% compared to 4.1% – 7.1% for its premiere.

That’s a crushing setback for TV3, coming so soon after The Blue Rose’s failure to sustain its strong start.

But it’s hard to imagine a tougher slot for a local drama as distinctive as this detective series, given Arrow had Shortland Street, My Kitchen Rules, The Big Bang Theory and 2 Broke Girls to help build its audience.

Whereas BBT averaged 14.9% – 16.6% and 2BG 14.4% – 17.6%, Harry’s lead-in 3^rd Degree averaged only 4.3% – 5.0%.

The news was better for the week’s other Kiwi drama, Go Girls.

The TV2 staple won its slot on Tuesday, despite starting at the later hour of 9.00 because of an extra long MKR.

While the ratings were still only single digit in the key age demos — 8.5% – 9.9% — it did top 10% of household shoppers and improved on last week’s shockingly low 6.9% – 8.9%.

Going head to head in HD at 8.30 were Galapagos With David Attenborough (5.3% – 7.3%) and NCIS (5.7% – 8.0%) while, at 9.30, NCIS: Los Angeles rated 4.6% – 6.8% to beat TV One’s premiere of Strangeways (3.9% – 6.3%).

At 10.00, Revenge averaged 5.5% – 8.8% to win the hour while earlier in the night TV3’s HD sitcoms drew roughly three times fewer viewers than MKR: Modern Family averaged 5.8% – 6.0% and Go On, 4.4% – 5.1%.

TV2 was on the mark with Monday’s premiere of superhero thriller Arrow.

Thanks to savvy scheduling, delaying Arrow’s NZ premiere by seven months doesn’t appear to have dented its appeal

On the back of top ratings for the hour-long Shortland Street and My Kitchen Rules, it averaged 9.1% – 14.8% of the key demographics, which was a sharp result for post-9pm.

The test will be if Arrow can hold this viewership when it settles into its weekly 9.30 Wednesday slot.

But if the ratings do stay true, then the network may rue not holding Arrow until 8.30 Thursdays, as the replacement for Once Upon a Time, in a slot that’s traditionally been for fantasy fare.

Arrow capped a top night for TV2, with Shortland Street’s second, hour-long “winter episode” averaging 17.8% – 25.4%.

But TV One took a hit, with Criminal Minds averaging a sub-par 3.8% – 7.3% and lead-out The Following, 2.2% – 3.9%.

Both were beaten by TV3’s re-run of Jumper in most of the key demos (4.5% – 5.6%) while its lead-in, The X Factor NZ, faltered on 6.8% – 8.5%, a new season low.

Sunday’s edition drew 11.3% – 14.0% to help TV3 win the night, although TV2’s HD re-run of The Dark Knight averaged 6.2% – 9.2% to dominate post-8.30 viewing (it was beaten only by Packed to the Rafters in the 25-54 demo).

MasterChef NZ averaged a competitive 8.1% – 12.0% against X Factor and Mike & Molly bounced back from previous weeks’ lows with 6.6% – 9.2%.

On Saturday, TV3’s CSI combo won its two-hour block in the key demos while TV2’s Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway slipped back to 3.7% – 5.3% opposite MasterChef MasterClass’ 3.5% – 5.9% and Saving Gen-Y’s 2.2% – 3.5%.

Friday night belonged to TV2’s Shortland Street (14.6% – 23.7%) and The Voice (9.5% – 15.8%) while The Graham Norton Show averaged 5.3% – 6.7% and Ben & Steve: World Famous In …, 3.8% – 4.6%.

On Thursday, Once Upon a Time (6.6% – 9.2%) regained the upper hand over Bones (5.1% -8.0%).

Saturday

Trade Zone Gone Fishin’ (TV3, 5.00)

ITM Fishing Show (TV3, 5.30)

Country Calendar (TV One, 7.00)

MasterChef MasterClass (TV One, 7.30)

Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (TV2, 7.30, F)

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (TV3, 8.30, 5.1)

Movie: I Am Legend (TV2, 8.45 5.1, R)

Arrow (TV2, 10.45, 5.1, R)

Movie: The Young Victoria (TV One, 11.30)

CSI: New York (TV3, 9.30, 5.1)

On the eve of its “upfront” new season previews to advertisers, media and broadcasters from around the world, the US networks today announced a slew of cancellations, renewals and commissions.

Of the series that air here in HD, gone are: Touch (although star Kiefer Sutherland may return in a 24 spin-off), Southland, Smash, Go On, The New Normal, Body of Proof, CSI: NY and Happy Endings.

Coming back are: Criminal Minds, Grey’s Anatomy, Castle, Once Upon a Time, Modern Family, Revenge, Suburgatory, Last Man Standing, The Middle, TV2’s yet-to-debut The Neighours and Scandal, and TV One’s yet-to-debut Nashville.

Coming soon are:

• Joss Whedon’s superhero adaptation Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
• Ironside, a reboot of the ‘60s hit about a wheelchair-bound detective
• young-adult sitcom Undateable
• Chicago PD, a spin-off of TV3’s yet-to-debut Chicago Fire
• another spin-off, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
• new vehicles for Robin Williams, Sarah Michelle Gellar, James Caan, Rebel Wilson, and Toni Collette that you can read about in the trade reports compiled here and in The Hollywood Reporter’s overview.

TV3 will be happy with the ratings for Wednesday’s series premiere of high-risk Kiwi crime drama Harry.

It averaged 4.1% – 7.1% of the major demographics and won the 9.30 hour with adults 18-49 and 25-54, no mean feat given it was “gritty, downbeat stuff” and TV One and TV2 had higher-rating leads-in.

Moreover, viewership in each of the demos that matter most to TV3 was consistent throughout the hour.

While it lost to the TVNZ opposition in the 18-39 and household shopper stakes, the Oscar Kightley-Sam Neill drama improved on lead-in 3^rd Degree, which averaged a higher-than-usual 4.5% – 6.1%.

The current affairs hour still lost the slot but rated credibly given the competition included the highest-rating episode of The Big Bang Theory in US TV history.

Chances are it was the most popular to screen here, too, as it out-rated blockbuster lead-ins Shortland Street and My Kitchen Rules in most of the key demos.

BBT averaged an out-of-this-world 18.3% – 23.6%, compared to SS’s 14.6% – 25.5% and lead-out 2 Broke Girls’ 15.2% – 20.3%.

While these numbers were huge compared to Harry’s, the detective series is poised to build on the back of this morning’s glowing reviews.

Stuff’s Chris Philpott called it “a leap forward in quality and scope for New Zealand television” while the NZ Herald’s Michele Hewitson singled out the star’s turn-against-type triumph: “You forget Kightley is a comedian. He is terrific as the hollowed-out Harry.”

She had reservations about some of the scene-setting but concluded Harry’s “certainly off to a compellingly sure-footed and hard-nosed start” — a sentiment TV3 executives no doubt share.

Clearly, and with good reason, TV2 fears starting the Sunday Premiere Movie at the usual hour of 8.30, opposite the final half-hour of X Factor, risks an unhappy ending for Red Riding Hood’s ratings if not enough viewers tune in at the outset.

Instead, it will screen a season one re-run of The Big Bang Theory at 8.30, leaving Red Riding Hood to go head-to-head with TV3’s HD re-run of Just Married.

The week starting May 18 is awash in HD movies.

Also scheduled are I Am Legend (TV2, 8.45 Saturday), The Young Victoria (TV One, 10.30 Saturday), House of Wax (TV2, 11.00 Sunday), Deception (TV3, 11.10 Sunday) and Transporter 2 (TV3, 8.35 Monday).

Other HD programming news of note for that week includes:

❑ Season finales of The Following on Monday (TV One, 9.30) and Galapagos With David Attenborough on Tuesday (TV One, 8.30)

❑ A Married … With Children reunion on Tuesday’s Modern Family (TV3, 7.30), when David Faustino, who played Ed O’Neill’s son on MWC, guest stars as an old flame – and ex-professor – of Claire’s

❑ From the same era, Beverly Hills 90210’s Shannen Doherty will resurface in Friday’s The New Normal (TV3, 8.00)

❑ Guesting on Friday’s Graham Norton Show (TV3, 8.30) will be Lord Alan Sugar (UK TV’s The Apprentice), Olivia Colman (Twenty Twelve, Rev) and Hugh Laurie

❑ TV2 will re-run No Ordinary Family overnight from Tuesday

❑ 3^rd Degree will present another The Vote debate on Wednesday (TV3, 8.30).