Newshub ratings suffer as viewers protest their anti-government stance and move to TVNZ

TVNZ has capitalised on its ratings dominance of TV3 in news and current affairs programming during the latest lockdown - with 500,000 more Kiwis on average tuning into 1 News at 6pm than Newshub.

Audiences this year have turned to coverage in strong numbers across the likes of nzherald.co.nz, Newstalk ZB and other major news channels - and former TVNZ head of news Bill Ralston believes there's a reason the state broadcaster has an advantage over Newshub in the traditional TV space.

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Ratings over the past month from July 22 to August 22, have shown TVNZ's 1 News at 6pm has an average nightly audience of 751,421 in the +5 overall demographic.

TV3's Newshub 6pm bulletin had an average audience of 241,656.

While the ratings for both stations' news programmes bumped significantly the week of August 9 to 15 - in which Auckland's second lockdown began - the increase was more significant for TVNZ.

1 News at 6pm increased its viewers by 108,500 the week lockdown began, whereas Newshub only increased by 36,200.

Ralston said it was unsurprising that Kiwis had returned to what they found comforting and familiar in a time of crisis.

"That's bloody impressive [for TVNZ], and sad for TV3. Well it's a measure of people's insecurity," Ralston said.

"When I was there - and that is many years ago - when difficult things happen - a major catastrophe, a disaster, a crisis - people turn to the news organisation they trust.

"The increase in TVNZ's viewing at that point shows me that people trust TVNZ news more to give you the information you need and you can rely on.

"I think the last few weeks, people have just gone back to mumma and that's TVNZ."

TVNZ's more than double share of the audience compared with TV3 was even more stark in the 7pm current affairs slot - where it was over triple.

TVNZ's offering in the self-described "light" current affairs show Seven Sharp, fronted by Hilary Barry and Jeremy Wells, had 546,056 average nightly viewers.

That was almost three times the viewership of TV3's 7pm The Project roundtable lineup of Jesse Mulligan, Kanoa Lloyd, and Jeremy Corbett which had 181,713 viewers a night.

"The Project is almost edgier in some ways. I think people reach for that big comfy blanket of 7 o'clock and snuggle down with Hilary and Jeremy, and snuggle down in a happy, happy world," Ralston said.

However, despite the further ratings separation between the two major free-to-air broadcasters this lockdown, TVNZ this week reported a $25.8 million net loss for its year to June 30.

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TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick maintained that while the advertising market in the fourth quarter of the 2019/20 financial year (April, May, June) was incredibly challenging, the broadcaster has not seen an equal fallout in advertising revenue this second lockdown.

"TVNZ's advertising revenue momentum has improved significantly since April. Recent lockdown restrictions have had less impact on our business than we experienced earlier this year," Kenrick told the Herald on Sunday.

"We can attribute this to the regional nature of current restrictions as well as businesses' increased adaptability and preparedness to maintain trading - whether fully online or a combination of online and in store depending on location."

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NZ Herald