Spinoff TV loses nearly 90 per cent of audience after 'graveyard' slot shift

The Spinoff has lost nearly 90 per cent of its audience after moving to Friday's 10.45pm "graveyard slot" on Three.

The quirky current affairs show debuted in its new slot on Friday but its audience did not follow, with its target audience falling from 37,000 to 4000.

The show, which was publicly funded by New Zealand on Air to the tune of $700,000, previously held Friday's prime 9.45pm slot which has traditionally been home to comedy shows like Funny Girls and Jono and Ben.

It was pushed back after losing nearly half its viewership just three weeks in, when its target audience (viewers aged 25-54) dropped from 73,000 to just 35,000. It has been replaced with low-budget clip show Fail Army.

At the time, NZoA spokesperson Allanah Kalafatelis said it was still early days for the show and that new content takes time to build an audience.

And a MediaWorks spokesperson told the Herald they remain committed to the series and were moving it to the later slot as it was a place "where it can consolidate and develop a dedicated audience".

The series is set to run for a total of 16 episodes and just five episodes in, Spinoff founder Duncan Greive remains hopeful it will find its feet in the 10.45pm slot.

Following the announcement of the change in time slot, he took to Twitter to say: "It was an absolute honour to play at 9.45pm, but our mutant lil baby will grow into its best and most natural state under cover of deep darkness."