By LOUISA CLEAVE television editor
The first All Black test screened on TV3 finally seems to have lured the free-to-air rugby audience enjoyed by TVNZ in the past.
Friday night's 102-0 thrashing of Tonga attracted a greater audience share than last year's first test - against Western Samoa and also played on a Friday night at North Harbour Stadium - broadcast on TV One.
TV3's coverage started later, at 9.30 pm, but attracted 57 per cent of viewers at the time, or 538,000 people aged over five.
The numbers were a huge increase on the Super 12 final, with the All Blacks predictably drawing about 250,000 more viewers. In the channel's target 18 to 49-year-old demographic, it drew 56 per cent of the audience, or 287,000 people.
The Western Samoa match, which screened at 7.45 pm on TV One last June, won 51 per cent of the audience (766,000 people) aged over five and 44 per cent of the 18-49 year-old audience (303,300).
TV One hooked an early audience on Friday night with the return of Changing Rooms at 7.30 pm, followed by Taste New Zealand.
The lifestyle shows premiered in the top 10 of programmes watched by all viewers, drawing 667,000 and 616,000, respectively. But viewers fell away when the All Blacks went up against TV One's later shows, Sex Chips and Rock'n'Roll (349,000) and Body Chemistry (203,000).
There has been a mixed reaction from companies which buy media advertising space to TV3's overall performance since becoming the new home of rugby.
The network's recent deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television was more likely to affect its prime-time ratings than sport, said Kevin Blight, chief executive of M for Media.
"[Sport] doesn't comprise a large amount of the ratings and generally it's off-peak.
"I think the Fox deal is much more important because it has to do with prime-time ratings. If they can impact in that territory, depending on what product they have access to, it will be far more important."
Before Friday night's game, Bridget Soljan, television manager for Total Media, correctly predicted a huge increase in TV3 viewers.
But she said the overall impact of screening rugby had been below expectations. "I think it is going to take a bit of time."
Free-to-air rugby audience flicks winning try for test
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