HD Ratings: End of the Road for SOA

Sons of Anarchy ended its seven-year run on TV3 on Tuesday by beating the competition in three of the four major demographics.

The bikie drama averaged 4.8% – 6.3% and was tops with viewers aged 18-39, 18-49 and 25-54.

The finale’s ratings were well short of the show’s heyday (and its record-breaking send-off in the US).

But that was when more viewers watched dramas live and the competition wasn’t as tough as TV2’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I, which averaged 5.6% – 10.1% of the key demos and dominated the night until SOA got under way.

TV One’s The Mentalist also took a hit from Harry, averaging only 3.0% – 5.6%, which was down sharply on its season highs.

Home and Away continues to struggle in its temporary 7pm slot, with Tuesday’s episode averaging only 4.8% – 8.2% — less than half of what Shortland Street typically rates but still enough to win in every key demo except 25-54.

Monday’s double-epsiode rated slightly better (6.5% – 8.8%) ahead of TV2’s movie premiere of The Tourist (3.1% – 5.8%) see-sawing with TV3’s re-run of The Bourne Supremacy (3.4% – 5.9%).

Bourne was a late-minute change after TV3 dropped The Siege out of sensitivity to the real-life siege in Sydney, coverage of which saw One News wallop 3News.

TV One also fared well with Criminal Minds (4.1% – 8.9%) dominating the 8.30 hour and lead-out Castle (2.1% – 5.9%) proving competitive with the movies.

TV2 owned Sunday night, with Toy Story That Time Forgot, Alice in Wonderand and the mid-season finale of Agents of SHIELD.

But TV One’s David Attenborough special (4.1% – 8.2%) was mostly more competitive than TV3’s first HD broadcast of Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park (4.1% – 5.4%).

Saturday was unusual in that Four won the night in the 18-39, 18-49 and household shoppers-with-kids demos because of the enduring popularity of its movies, The Grinch and Back to the Future.

TV2’s re-run of the movie 2012 (7.3% – 9.2%) dwarfed everything else on Friday, although lead-in Home & Away, in its first 7pm broadcast, drew 11.5% of HHS/k.

On Thursday TV2’s The Flash (6.9% – 8.7%) and Arrow (4.5% – 5.0%) bowed out, with the former winning its slot and the latter losing to TV3’s What’s Your Number in every key demo except 25-54.