One News claws back some of 3's gains

The two rival television news networks have settled into a Mexican stand-off after TV3 lost some of its gains in the Auckland region during its roller-coaster ride last year.

TV3's growth has flattened out since December - a sign One News might have finally stopped haemorrhaging viewers to TV3, according to news boss Bill Ralston.

TV3 News pulled off a Lazarus manoeuvre last year and increased its audience by about 30 per cent between March and November.

Hopes were high at TVNZ after Mr Ralston made controversial changes, including replacing Judy Bailey with Wendy Petrie and Simon Dallow. Nationally, One News is well down on its audiences of May 2005, but Ralston has taken heart from a weakening of 3 News' grasp on Aucklanders.

AGB Nielsen Media Research figures have 3 News at its highest peak last November when it got 47 per cent of Auckland 25 to 54-year-olds - 19 points ahead of One News. By the end of May, it had fallen back to 36 per cent and One News was close behind on 34.

The battle was harder for One News in TV3's target of Auckland for 18 to 49-year-olds. TV3 was 10 points ahead of it, on 37 per cent. However, the results cheered Mr Ralston.

"The whole object was really to stop the rot, to stop any further audience drift and to rebuild. We've stopped that drift and over the next six months we will target those viewers who might have switched. It's relatively easy to lose viewers in a short space of time. It's harder to pick them up and it takes longer. So May showed real strength for us."

TV3 head of news Mark Jennings said that although TV3 had fallen back, One News was still so far behind where it was last year that it could not take a bow.

"Even though it's levelled out, at best, they have relaunched, they have spent truckloads of money on marketing, and it hasn't lifted them."

One News hit a record low 44 per cent of the overall audience in April. By the end of May it had rallied to 47 per cent of the overall audience, down from 53 per cent in May last year.

"If [Ralston's] first job is to stop the bleeding, well, he put a massive wound in them by doing what he did," said Mr Jennings. "He carved up the most successful combination in this country's newsreading history. That's where all the blood came from. Then the truth came out about the extravagant salaries and that was a couple of arms chopped off. It's all very well to say you're going to stop the bleeding and rebuild, but it's all aimed at diverting attention away from the massive loss of share."

Mr Jennings expected 3 News to continue to grow - albeit at a lesser rate. "It was a phenomenal rise and now it's gone back to a more normal pattern. So we are not going to see that spectacular growth again, but there will be steady, normal growth."

Mr Ralston was also hoping the decision to screen talk show Ellen before the news would resolve a problem that has vexed the network for the past year - trying to beat TV3's Home and Away.


Meanwhile at 7

The gloss seems to have worn off Campbell Live for Auckland viewers - although the current affairs show sometimes beats Close Up on individual nights, it has recorded some of its lowest average audience figures since it began last March.

Both current affairs shows have lost viewers since May last year, but in the head-to-head battle, Close Up has regained the ascendancy in Auckland's key demographics after Campbell Live out-performed it for the latter part of 2005.

In May it was watched by an average of 16 per cent of people in Auckland aged 18 to 49 - down from 22 per cent last May. It was two points below Close Up, which had also dropped from May last year - by three points.

Campbell Live also struggled in Auckland to reach people aged 25 to 54, getting 17 per cent, down from 26 per cent in May last year and 10 share points less than Close Up, which had 27 per cent. Nationally Campbell Live had a 14 per cent share - down from 16 per cent last May and less than half of Close Up's 34 per cent.

TV3 news head Mark Jennings said the audiences varied wildly each night, depending on the offerings of each show and Campbell Live had frequently beaten Close Up in key demographics.

"It's an interesting thing, when we can beat them on a given night and it shows this gap is not as significant as it seems. The race is closer than the averages indicate."

He said Campbell Live did well in other cities, and predicted that by May next year, Campbell Live would be consistently in front in metropolitan areas.

The drop in viewers to both shows reveals the networks are also facing a joint battle to convince people that current affairs is more worthy viewing than soap operas. There were 52,700 fewer current affairs viewers at 7pm this May than the year before