HDTV Ratings: Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Cougar Town, Sons of Anarchy

Switching from sci-fi to sitcoms on Wednesday nights has helped TV2 to decimate TV3’s line-up.

Last night it launched a three-hour comedy block opposite TV3’s reality re-runs and crime dramas.

Two and a Half Men was most popular with TV2’s 18-39 viewership, drawing 15.4% for its HD return, followed by Scrubs (in SD), on 13.1%, and, in HD for the first time, The Big Bang Theory (12.2%) and Cougar Town (9.3%).

With household shoppers with kids, these comedies rated several points higher, with Two and a Half Men topping 19%.

TV3’s HD bikie drama hit, Sons of Anarchy, made a solid return, with 8.1% of 25-54 year-olds and 7.1% of 18-49 year-olds.

But it couldn’t overtake TV2’s new SD comedy, Drop Dead Diva, which rated 9% of these demos and 8.8% of 18-39 year-olds.

That’s comparable to what Lost rated in the 9.30pm slot this time last year but the Big Bang-Cougar double-bill drew nearly double the viewership of last year’s FlashForward.

However, Cougar rated much higher when the first season aired at 8pm, with Two and a Half Men as its lead-in.