Cult yet to produce the ratings

The Cult got almost $6.5 million from NZ on Air. Photo / Supplied

NZ on Air has revealed that viewer numbers for the new thriller series The Cult - on which the taxpayer-funded agency forked out nearly 10 per cent of its television budget - are not as high as it hoped for.

But chief executive Jane Wrightson said the public should not to jump to conclusions about the show's success because it is early days - the seventh episode was aired two days ago.

TVNZ also admits viewer numbers could be better.

The Cult, which screens on Thursdays at 8.30pm with a catch-up episode every Wednesday, received almost $6.5 million in taxpayer funding.

"[Viewer numbers are] a little lower than we're comfortable with - there's no doubt about that," Ms Wrightson said.

"It's not finding as broad an audience as we might have hoped.

"It's a series that does take some time and attention to follow - which is a good thing - but its genre means that it doesn't necessarily attract big viewing numbers."

Ms Wrightson said it was too soon to be concerned because drama series were quite complex and generally took time to attract audiences.

International shows arrived here after much more hype than locally produced dramas.

International media coverage and major celebrity cast members meant there was much more anticipation and excitement for overseas dramas. "Here we have to start from scratch," she said.

Ms Wrightson said the success of Outrageous Fortune - which has received $48,799,900 in funding and is in production for its sixth season (a New Zealand record) - had set the benchmark at a high level for locally produced dramas.