We like to see our on reflection on TV

Aucklanders have long been accused of being self-absorbed - but analysis of new TV ratings figures suggests the entire country is more than a touch narcissistic.

According to AGB Nielsen's viewer ratings for the three major free-to-air channels for the year to date, South Islanders were most likely to flick to the mainland documentary South, politicised Wellingtonians preferred The Politically Incorrect Parenting Show, traffic-obsessed Aucklanders liked Motorway Patrol and much-maligned Hamiltonians plumped for the Fair Go Ad Awards 2009.

Dr Mike Lee, a senior marketing lecturer at Auckland University, said the ratings for TV One, TV2 and TV3 showed people liked seeing themselves reflected on the small screen.

The Fair Go Ad Awards 2009 played to the mythic idea of David versus Goliath, he said - pitting the consumer against the big corporate - so it was no surprise that had gone down well in Hamilton as underdogs would appreciate that show.

He said the Waikato was the underdog region of New Zealand - "because they're near Auckland, but not quite in Auckland" and Fair Go played to the "them and us" mentality. Take its rugby team, for example. "The Chiefs, you sort of think, 'Oh they're just from the Waikato', and when they do well it's often more surprising because they're exceeding expectations."

And Aucklanders' enthusiasm for Motorway Patrol was only natural, given crime, police sirens and helicopters were part of daily life - and the show is inherently appealing since it is based on bad guys being caught or at the very least making fools of themselves.

Auckland's second favourite programme (and nearly first equal) was Dancing with the Stars - which made sense since it was particularly valued by people who cared about celebrities, or liked to see them humiliated. And anything to do with politics, even if it's just a parenting show that calls itself "politically incorrect", was going to be popular in Wellington, Lee said.

South, in which Marcus Lush rhapsodises about the South Island's rugged landscape, fed mainlanders' southern pride, said actor David McPhail, who lives in Christchurch.

Many South Islanders were sick of gimmicky reality TV shows about people digging up other people's gardens. "The fact that the people in the South Island will watch what is essentially a local programme, shows there's a very large untouched audience out there."

MOST-WATCHED PROGRAMMES FOR 2009

AUCKLAND: Motorway Patrol (close second: Dancing with the Stars )

HAMILTON AND REST OF WAIKATO: Fair Go Ad Awards 2009 

WELLINGTON, PALMERSTON NORTH AND REST OF CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND: The Politically Incorrect Parenting  Show (close second: Fair Go Ad Awards 2009)

SOUTH ISLAND: South Source: AGB Nielsen  0.0

- © Fairfax NZ News