Black Cable TV Ratings for Week of Aug. 31 - Sept. 6
Meet the Browns repeats as No.1 cable show; TBS remains most watched net

(September 10, 2009) The battle between viewing cable and broadcast TV is heating up in black households. On Monday and Tuesday nights in particular the two sides are going at each other with lots of head-to-head competition. Though last week's ratings reflect pre-season NFL interest, the supremacy of ESPN's "Monday Night Football" is facing a challenge from both cable and broadcast prime time shows.

[Black viewers were 16 percent of the audience for the Vikings/Texans Monday night game, which was the No.1 cable show in white households.]

TBS held on to the No.1 spot and the title of most watched cable network with 8.8 million black viewers across six shows. BET was second with 4.8 million for six shows, followed by USA's 3.8 million for five shows.

The total number of viewers watching the Top 25 prime time cable shows, according to Nielsen, was 26.3 million. That's a drop of ten percent from the previous -- and it seems those viewers went to broadcast TV, which had a 13 percent increase for the week.

Top 25 Cable Shows in Black Households

   Rank | Program | Network | AA Rating | AA Share | Viewers 2+

1	MEET THE BROWNS	TBS	9.9	14.5	2,028
2	REAL HOUSEWIVES ATLANTA	BRAVO	9.0	13.7	1,895
3	MEET THE BROWNS	TBS	8.5	13.1	1,816
4	HOUSE OF PAYNE	TBS	8.1	11.8	1,668
5	HOUSE OF PAYNE	TBS	7.4	11.1	1,439
6	NFL PRE-SEASON FOOTBALL	ESPN	7.4	11.3	1,368
7	HOUSE OF PAYNE	TBS	6.1	9.8	1,248
8	T.0. SHOW	VH1	6.0	8.7	1,278
9	FRANKIE & NEFFE	BET	5.6	8.4	1,100
10	WWE ENTERTAINMENT	USA	5.3	7.8	1,054
11	REAL CHANCE OF LOVE 2	VH1	5.3	7.9	1,101
12	WWE ENTERTAINMENT	USA	4.9	7.3	982
13	FRANKIE & NEFFE	BET	4.4	6.7	837
14	AMERICAS BEST DANCE CREW	MTV	4.2	6.9	883
15	BET MOVIE OF THE WEEK	BET	4.2	6.6	868
16	REAL CHANCE OF LOVE 2	VH1	4.1	6.2	870
17	LAW & ORDER: SVU	USA	3.7	5.8	703
18	TINY & TOYA	BET	3.7	5.9	670
19	HOUSE OF PAYNE	TBS	3.6	6.1	619
20	LAW & ORDER: SVU	USA	3.4	5.9	592
21	FRANKIE & NEFFE	BET	3.4	5.4	683
22	REAL HOUSEWIVES ATLANTA	BRAVO	3.4	5.3	648
23	FRANKIE & NEFFE	BET	3.4	5.4	657
24	LARRY KING LIVE	CNN	3.4	5.2	774
25	LAW & ORDER: SVU	USA	3.4	5.1	540

Source: Nielsen Media Research. Ranked by share of audience watching. Based on live and same day viewing. Number of viewers shown in thousands (1,000 = 1 million). Representing more than 13.45 million television households in the U.S., the African- American television audience is the largest minority segment in Nielsen's measurement samples. All times eastern.

Click here for last week's Top 25 cable TV chart


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