HD Ratings: Homer Follically Challenged But Block Blue-Chip

Viewers brushed aside the first HD episodes of The Simpsons in two years for Sunday’s network HD premiere of another top ‘toon, Tangled.

TV2’s family movie averaged 8.6% – 13.8% of the key demographics to easily win its 7.00-9.00 slot against the resumption of HD episodes of The Simpsons and Family Guy on TV3.

Simpsons at 7.00 averaged 5.5% – 6.3% and at 7.30, 3.7% – 6.2%; at 8.00, Family Guy gathered in 3.7% – 6.8%.

Still, against tough competition and on a different channel, both were up sharply on the same time last year, when The Simpsons averaged 3.3% – 4.1% and Family Guy, 2.9% – 4.1%.

TV3’s network HD premiere of box office flop The Dilemma was predictably soft, with only 5.3% – 6.1%.

This compared to 7.4% – 8.1% for TV2’s SD re-run of The Waterboy and 4.1% – 7.1% for TV One’s Paul Holmes special from 8.30-9.45.

TV One’s HD coverage of the HSBC Sevens World Series averaged 3.8% – 7.4% on Saturday night and 3.5% – 6.3% on Friday night — or roughly three times the viewership of Sky Sport 1’s coverage.

But Friday’s footy was kicked into touch by TV3’s two-hour season finale of The Block Australia (8.7% – 12.0%) and The Best of the Graham Norton Show (4.1% – 7.6%) while TV2’s 666 Park Avenue could scare up only 2.7% – 5.0%.

TV3 also fared well on Saturday with a double-episode of CSI: New York averaging 6.3% – 7.5% in the first hour and 4.2% – 5.5% in the second.