HDTV Ratings: The Mentalist vs Outrageous Fortune, Fringe vs Nurse Jackie

TV2’s deranged decision to programme HD re-runs of The Mentalist opposite new HD episodes of Outrageous Fortune predictably cost the network dearly last night, when the TV3 hit drew nearly five times the viewership of 18-39 year-olds.

The demographic is TV2’s target audience but only 5.6% tuned into The Mentalist compared with the 23.9% who watched Outrageous Fortune.

TV2 fared slightly better with 25-54 (8% vs TV3’s 22.2%) but was deserted by 18-49 year-olds (7.5% vs 22.2%) and household shoppers with kids (8.7% vs 23.3%).

It was a phenomenal result for Outrageous Fortune, even if it was helped by the opposition’s daft programming (as of next week, the re-run of The Mentalist will air only 24 hours after new, season-two episodes — that’s if it’s still in the schedule after last night’s disaster).

Not surprisingly, TV3 won the night, with another HD must-see, Nurse Jackie, getting enough of a lift from its lead-in to out-rate TV2’s Fringe in these key demographics — even though its viewership was still less than half that of Outrageous Fortune’s.

Moreover, TV2’s replacement of Grey’s Anatomy with The Mentalist allowed Outrageous Fortune to build on last week’s episode and almost equal the record ratings of the season premiere.