(August 28, 2013) The friendly battle between cable networks VH1 and OWN returned to the Top 25 chart. VH1 remained at No.1 thanks to “Basketball Wives” beating “The Haves and The Have Nots” by less than a full ratings point.
VH1 also retained the title of most watched cable network in black households, with seven million tuning in four of its shows on the Top 25. BET stayed in second with 6.6 million across six programs. OWN held on to third place with 4.3 million for four of its charted shows.
The total number of viewers watching the Top 25 cable shows in black homes, according to Nielsen, was down four percentage points to 29.5 million.
Top 25 Cable Shows in Black Households
Rank | Program | Network | AA Rating | AA Share | AA Viewers 2+(000)
|
1 |
BASKETBALL WIVES 5 | VH1 |
10.8 |
16.0  |
2,143 |
|
2 |
HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS | OWN |
9.9 |
14.3 |
1,892 |
|
3 |
T.I. AND TINY 3 | VH1 |
9.8 |
13.9 |
2,017 |
|
4 |
THE GAME | BET |
9.7 |
13.9 
|
1,918 |
|
5 |
2013 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS | MTV |
9.4 |
13.5 |
2,040 |
|
6 |
MARRYING THE GAME 2 | VH1 |
9.0 |
12.4 |
1,737 |
|
7 |
NFL PRE-SEASON FOOTBALL | ESPN |
6.9 |
10.0 |
1,223 |
|
8 |
SUNDAY BEST 6 | BET |
6.7 |
10.1 |
1,297 |
|
9 |
BASKETBALL WIVES 5 | VH1 |
6.4 |
9.1 |
1,130 |
|
10 |
WWE ENTERTAINMENT | USA |
6.2 |
8.9 |
1,044 |
|
11 |
WWE ENTERTAINMENT | USA |
6.2 |
8.7 |
1,069 |
|
12 |
THE GAME | BET |
5.7 |
8.4 |
1,097 |
|
13 |
NFL PRE-SEASON FOOTBALL | ESPN |
5.0 |
7.5 |
878 |
|
14 |
2013 VMA PRESHOW | MTV |
4.7 |
7.1 |
956 |
|
15 |
WWE ENTERTAINMENT | USA |
4.7 |
6.9 |
837 |
|
16 |
LOVE THY NEIGHBOR | OWN |
4.7 |
6.9 |
981 |
|
17 |
SUNDAY BEST 6 | BET |
4.5 |
6.3 |
852 |
|
18 |
SWINDLE | NICK |
4.3 |
7.3 |
1,105 |
|
19 |
LOVE THY NEIGHBOR | OWN |
4.1 |
6.1 |
827 |
|
20 |
THE GAME | BET |
4.0 |
5.7 |
755 |
|
21 |
BET MOVIE OF THE WEEK | BET |
3.8 |
6.2 |
727 |
|
22 |
JESSIE | DISNEY |
3.8 |
6.0 |
878 |
|
23 |
HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS | OWN |
3.8 |
5.9 |
674 |
|
24 |
FISH HOOKS | DISNEY |
3.7 |
6.1 |
725 |
|
25 |
SHAKE IT UP | DISNEY |
3.7 |
5.5 |
770 |
Source: The Nielsen Co.. Number of viewers ages 2+ shown in thousands (1,000 = 1 million). Rankings are based on share of black households. 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.
