HDTV Ratings: May 4

A scene from last night's Hawaii Five-0

Having Survivor: Redemption Island as its new lead-in didn’t help to buoy Hawaii Five-0’s ratings last night.

Survivor’s ratings largely mirrored 60 Minutes’ in the same slot a week earlier (60 Minutes airs 7.30pm Sundays as of this weekend).

But Five-0 drew fewer viewers in all of the major demographics than the previous week: 4.7% of 25-54 (versus 6.5%), 4.3% of 18-49 (vs 5.5%), and 6.4% of household shoppers with kids (vs 7.5%).

However, TV2’s sitcom opposition, The Big Bang Theory and Cougar Town, shed a couple of ratings points, too, as did Two and a Half Men at 7.30pm.

Only Shortland Street and the season finale of Sons of Anarchy posted gains, with the latter capturing 9.8% of 18-49 year-olds (up from 7.4%), 9.7% of 25-54 year-olds (vs 7.9%) and 11.3% of HHS/kids (vs 9.7%).

Given how consistent Anarchy’s ratings have been over its first two seasons, it’s not surprising TV3 has elected to run the third back-to-back, starting May 18.

That’s great news for fans of the HD bikie drama and hopefully will lead to 20^th Century Fox releasing it here on Blu-ray.

The first two seasons have been out on region-free Blu-rays in North America for months, but so far only the DVD of season one has been listed — although not yet dated — for release in Australasia.