HDTV Ratings: June 18-19

Tuesday’s HD premiere of Highway Cops got off to a fast start in the ratings while those Hawaii cops from Five-O at last showed signs of turning the corner.

TV One’s reality newcomer averaged 10.0%-12.9% of the major demographics and dented TV3’s Funny Roots (4.9%-6.3%) more than it did Suburgatory (9.3%-14.0%).

It was most popular with TV One’s target audience, 25-54 year-olds, and was 4-5 points up on lead-in Radar Across the Pacific.

The latter looked shabby in SD and was out-rated by TV3’s Target in all the key demos while TV2’s HD hit The Middle dwarfed both, averaging 12.8%-17.8%.

At 8.30, the race was tighter: GCB averaged 8.5%-11.5%, NCIS 7.3%-8.9%, and Intrepid Journeys 7.7%-11.2%.

Viewership of these HD shows was split evenly in the 18-39 demo, where only a few points separated them.

At 9.30, Hawaii Five-O improved significantly on its premiere to average 5.1%-6.1% but still was no match for TV One’s Siege: The Real Story (8.5%-12.4%).

On Monday, TV One’s Person of Interest ended its season on a ratings high, averaging 5.5%-9.0% versus Revenge’s 9.5%-15.2%.

TV3’s re-run of X-Men averaged 5.8%-7.1% over two hours while TV One’s Criminal Minds posted 8.6%-11.9% and TV2’s Desperate Housewives 11.6%-15.8%.

But despite keen interest in the Wisteria Lane soap as the series finale nears, the hour-long episode of Shortland Street was again the most watched show of the night (20.2%-26.8%), which left HD rival Last Man Standing barely upright (1.4%-2.5%).

Modern Family was able to claw back some viewers for TV3, averaging 4.9%-6.6%, but still pulled less than half of Neighbours at War’s audience.