Friday night ratings battle heats up as Kiwi Living debuts

Herald online

13 Jul, 2015 08:30 AM2 mins to read

Jono and Ben face off against Kiwi Living on Friday nights.

TV One launched its new local lifestyle series Kiwi Living on Friday night, facing off against TV3's Jono and Ben.

Hosted by Miriama Kamo and Mike Van de Elzen, the series replaced British property search Location, Location, Location in a move that was hoped to bring in a younger audience and compete with TV3's popular Friday night comedy line up.

But based on Friday night's ratings, the move has backfired, with fewer viewers aged 25-54 tuning in, according to Nielsen.

373,000 viewers aged 5+ sat down to watch Kiwi Living on Friday night, but just 91,000 of those were in the target 25-54 demographic.

The previous week, 400,000 viewers aged 5+ and 132,000 aged 25-54 tuned into Location, Location, Location.

Over on TV3, 161,000 viewers aged 5+ watched Jono and Ben, 122,000 of which were aged 25-54.

Of more concern for both networks is the fact Fail Army, a late night comedy clip show, out-rated both prime time series in their target demographic.

206,000 viewers aged 5+ watched the low-budget series, with 144,000 viewers aged 25-54.

The series, hosted by local comedians Joseph Moore and Guy Montgomery, has seen a steady climb in ratings in recent weeks, with Friday marking the second consecutive week it has out-rated Jono and Ben.