ScreenScribe

TV2′s HD hit, The Mentalist, took a hit last night — from a double-barreled assault by TV3 and TV One. TV3′s HD premiere of the action movie, Hitman, was watched by 9.4% of the network’s target audience, 18-49 year-olds, compared with The Mentalist’s 11.7%. Both channels lost viewers to TV One’s premiere of Richard Hammond’s [...]

TV2′s abrupt rescheduling of Tuesday nights, replacing re-runs of The Mentalist with movies, failed to dent the momentum of Outrageous Fortune. TV3′s HD comedy/drama last night drew two-to-three times the viewership of Red Eye in all the key demographics, the gap being widest with TV2′s target audience, 18-39 year-olds (18.9% vs 5.8%). The trend continued [...]

After weeks of tolerating absurdly low ratings for Tuesday night repeats of The Mentalist, TV2 at last is dumping the HD drama for movies — with Fringe becoming collateral damage. The spooky HD sensation will screen for the last time next week, at the later time of 10.15pm, with a network spokesman only able to say, “It’ll [...]

TV3′s steamy sex-addict drama, Californication, last night scored its hottest ratings yet, with the HD premiere of season three. It pulled 12.1% of 18-49 year-olds, compared to HD rival Fringe’s 7.7% on TV2, and 12.9% of 18-39 year-olds (vs Fringe’s 7%). With 25-54 year-olds, the gap was similar but much narrower with household shoppers with [...]

Nurse Jackie ended its HD run last night with fewer viewers than usual tuning into the season finale. It was out-rated in all the key demographics by TV2′s HD rival, Fringe, and TV One’s Real Crime doco about chimps that kill, and kept barely half of the viewership that HD lead-in Outrageous Fortune delivered. TV2′s [...]

If you were hanging out to see TV2′s long-delayed debut of the graphic novel action sensation, Human Target, in HD, you might as well hang out a little longer for the Blu-ray. The network will double-bill the newcomer with season three of Chuck from August 25, in the 8.30pm-10.30pm zone. Frustratingly, neither will air in [...]

TV3′s HD comedy special, Ben and Jeremy’s Big Road Trip, didn’t generate the ratings traffic it deserved last night but hopefully will lead to more primetime vehicles for the charismatic 7 Days duo. The innovative, funny, and largely improvised spin-off with a Goodbye Pork Pie flavour was watched by 7.7% of 18-49 year-olds, compared to [...]

TV3′s HD combo of NZ’s Next Top Model and the movie, Juno, helped the network to win Friday night’s ratings contest. The season-two launch of Model attracted 9.1% of TV3′s target audience, 18-49 year-olds, and the free-to-air premiere of Juno, 10.9%. Model ranked behind TV2′s comedy duo, Two and a Half Men and Gary Unmarried, but [...]

Top TV critic Jane Clifton, of The Dominion Post, has joined ScreenScribe.tv in challenging the thinking behind TV2′s decision to programme first-run episodes and repeats of its HD hit, The Mentalist, only 24 hours apart. Writing in today’s paper, she quips if Monday’s season-two premieres can be dubbed “All New The Mentalist“, then Tuesday’s season-one [...]

TV2′s HD premiere of season two of The Mentalist last night scorched the competition. With the top-rating, movie-length episode of Shortland Street as a lead-in, it drew 19.1% of TV2′s target audience, 18-39 year-olds, and 20.8% of TV3′s key demo, 18-49 year-olds, whereas TV3′s free-to-air HD premiere of Street Kings could only rate 6.1% of each. [...]