Shortland St also loses at sought after 7pm timeslot

Ratings show more than 120,000 people have switched off Shortland Street over the past decade.

The 7pm battle of the box has focused on current affairs rivals Seven Sharp and Campbell Live, but prime-time medical soap Shortland Street has lost the biggest audience share in the past decade.

This week, TV3 announced that it was reviewing Campbell Live, drawing a flurry of public support. Friday night's average audience of 293,050 made it the third-highest rating episode for 18 months.

The move to axe the show moved Australian television host Rove McManus to tweet yesterday: "If I have to come all the way to New Zealand to knock some sense into you, @TV3nz, then so help me I will! @JohnJCampbell #SaveCampbell Live".

John Campbell's possible dumping has fuelled a week of debate about current affairs versus entertainment in that slot. Photo / Greg Bowker

Campbell Live

producer Pip Keane @pipkeane

tweeted

: "Thank you for your support this week. My @CampbellLiveNZ team is committed to producing the best current affairs for as long as we can."

Campbell's possible dumping has fuelled a week of debate about current affairs versus entertainment in that slot.

But ratings for 7pm shows reveal more than 120,000 people have switched off Shortland Street over the past decade.

The long-running soap dominated the coveted 7pm slot in 2005 with a commanding 14.2 per cent audience share of 537,100 viewers.

The TV2 drama, now in its 22nd season, has seen its audience drop to 409,200 viewers this year.

Over the same period, Close Up and replacement Seven Sharp have strengthened TV One's audience despite bleak ratings in 2010.

And TV3's embattled Campbell Live has seen a slight rise in audience in the past decade.

TVNZ Commissioner of Drama/Comedy Kathleen Anderson held no concerns for Shortland Street, saying it easily dominated the timeslot in the channel's target 18-49 demographic.

"It has been in the top five shows each week for years and that hasn't changed.

"It's also consistently one of our top shows on TVNZ OnDemand," said Anderson.