Paul Henry loses breakfast ratings battle

Paul Henry improved ratings for TV3 but didn't come close to TV One's Breakfast. Photo / Getty

Paul Henry's return to breakfast television saw him nearly double last week's Firstline ratings - but was well behind TV One's Breakfast hosted by Rawdon Christie and Ali Pugh.

55,000 viewers tuned in to the show between 7am and 9am yesterday morning, according to local TV website Throng.

But nearly three times as many viewers were watching TV One's Breakfast, which drew an audience of 141,000 between 7am and 8am. That marks virtually no change from last week's ratings, which saw 143,000 people tune in.

Last Tuesday, just 28,000 viewers tuned in to TV3's Firstline, which was replaced this week by the new Paul Henry show.

Radio ratings for the show, which is simulcast on Radio Live, won't be available until October when the next radio survey is conducted.

The last results, released in October 2014, showed the station attracted just under 94,000 listeners per week across all programming, including Marcus Lush's breakfast slot.

Henry's multi-platform debut was met with mixed reviews yesterday, with some pleased to see the broadcaster back on morning television, while others criticised the radio-centric nature of the show.

- nzherald.co.nz