TVNZ launches new local show in Friday night TV battle

Miriama Kamo and Michael Van de Elzen will host a new lifestyle show on TV One, Kiwi Living. Photo / Supplied

A new Friday night battleground is forming for local content as TVNZ announces a new lifestyle programme to go head-to-head with TV3's Jono and Ben.

Kiwi Living will be hosted by Miriama Kamo and Michael Van de Elzen and aims to give viewers practical tips "to kick-start their weekends and try something new".

The magazine-style show will feature segments on food, travel, design, health and well-being, fashion and more, presented by various roving reporters, including Matt Gibb and Erin Simpson.

The series will replace popular British property gurus Kirstie and Phil, who currently dominate the Friday night slot with Location, Location, Location, which is consistently the most-watched evening show on Fridays.

It's understood Kiwi Living has been modelled on Australia's Friday night series The Living Room, which launched in 2012 and became a surprise success for Channel 10.

No doubt TVNZ will be hoping to emulate that success and mount a challenge to TV3's established Friday night comedy line-up, which took a hit earlier this year when Jono and Ben moved to prime time, losing viewers in its opening weeks.

At its lowest, it was out-rated by the budget clip show Fail Army, which took over its former 10pm slot.

Jono and Ben lost viewers when they moved to prime time but are slowly growing their audience.

Ratings have now stabilised and the series is starting to pull decent viewer figures. Last Friday's episode saw 261,000 tune in, making it the third most watched evening show, behind Location, Location, Location and The Graham Norton Show.

Meanwhile, Maori Television is also launching an assault on the line-up, scheduling a new set of local comedies.

Find Me a Maori Bride screens Fridays, 8pm on Maori Television

Find Me a Maori Bride, a mockumentary series from the creative team behind Auckland Daze, begins this Friday at 8pm. It's followed by the karaoke comedy Homai Te Pakipaki at 8.30pm, before Taika Waititi's new satire series Brown Eye at 9.30pm.

The launch date for Kiwi Living has yet to be announced but it's said to be "coming soon", facing stiff competition from the growing Friday funny-landscape.

- TimeOut