There has never been a black “Bachelor,” and very few minority women vying for the bachelor’s love. In fact, black participants in general are rare on reality shows.
So when a reality show offers a black protagonist and mostly black contestants looking to woo him, the black community will likely support it, no matter how outrageous or controversial the show is.
That explains the huge tune-in among black viewers for the Sunday night finale of “Flavor of Love 2,” the VH1 show starring diminutive former rapper Flavor Flav.
The finale averaged an impressive 18 rating and 34 share among black adults 18-49, meaning one out of every three African Americans who watched TV Sunday at 10 p.m. were watching “Love.” By comparison, among all adults 18-49, it averaged a 4.6.
The series ended the season as the No. 1 show in its timeslot on cable and broadcast among blacks 18-49.
The 90-minute finale also averaged 7.5 million total viewers, the one of the most-watched non-sports telecast on basic cable for the entire year.
It was the most-watched show ever on VH1, more than doubling the audience for the second-season premiere, which averaged 3.3 million.
By comparison, the most recent season finale of “The Sopranos” on HBO averaged just 1.1 million more viewers. And the season-ender for TNT’s “The Closer,” cable’s most-watched scripted show, averaged 8.0 million last month.
“Love” is a controversial show in the black community. Some see it as the confirmation of the worst stereotypes of African Americans because it features gold-digging females, worthless men and, worst of all, a deadbeat dad.
“We need better tv for the ‘ghetto’! Bad enough we're lacking in idols on TV but to see this is really disgusting!” writes one poster on Vibe.com.
Others say the critics should lighten up.
“Even though this show is a hot mess, I'm so addicted to it,” writes another poster on Vibe.com.
Writes another on Telivisionwithoutpity.com: “I was always wondering if there would ever be a ‘black’ version of the Bachelor... My prayers have been answered!!!”
“Love” is without a doubt the most outrageous reality show on cable. The season began with one of the contestants using the floor of Flavor Flav’s bachelor pad as a toilet. Midway through, one of the contestants broke out in cold sores, unthinkable for a find-your-mate program.
It wrapped Sunday night with Flav choosing Deelishis, the contestant dubbed a drag queen in many online fan forums, to be his girl.
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended Oct. 15:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, USA, TBS, TNT, SPK
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): ESPN, USA, TNT, Cartoon Network, TBS
Top movie (18-49s): TBS’s “Mr. Deeds” (Sunday 8 p.m.) 1.57 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “Ravens/Broncos” (Monday 8:30 p.m.) 12.5 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: VH1’s “Flavor of Love 2” (Sunday 10 p.m); Spike’s “UFC Final Chapter – Tito/Shamrock” (Tuesday 8 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday 10 p.m); Comedy Central’s “South Park” (Wednesday 10 p.m.); VH1’s “Celebrity Paranormal Trailer” (Sunday 11:30 p.m.); FX’s “Nip Tuck” (Tuesday 10 p.m); Bravo’s “Project Runway” (Wednesday 9:59 p.m.); ESPN’s “College Football Saturday” (Saturday 7:38 p.m.)
Show on the rise: Cartoon Network’s “Frisky Dingo.” Thanks to the quirky superheroes (and super villains) of this new series, the Adult Swim cartoon block grabbed the top spot among adults and men 18-34 and 18-24 for total day in basic cable.
Show on the decline: Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob, SquarePants.” It declined by a few hundred thousand among total viewers in a week where most everything else held steady.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending Oct. 15 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
ESPN |
2395 |
NICK |
1560 |
|
2 |
USA |
1837 |
TNT |
1032 |
|
3 |
TNT |
1552 |
NAN* |
959 |
|
4 |
TOON |
1352 |
TOON |
956 |
|
5 |
TBSC |
1170 |
ESPN |
899 |
|
6 |
NAN |
1146 |
ADSM* |
864 |
|
7 |
FOXN |
1035 |
USA |
848 |
|
8 |
LIF |
1035 |
LIF |
768 |
|
9 |
AEN |
1005 |
FOXN |
705 |
|
10 |
SPK |
993 |
TBSC |
664 |
|
11 |
VH1 |
910 |
AEN |
654 |
|
12 |
FX |
879 |
HALL |
520 |
|
13 |
HGTV |
860 |
FX |
504 |
|
14 |
HALL |
846 |
MTV |
502 |
|
15 |
SCIF |
808 |
DISC |
494 |
|
16 |
MTV |
775 |
CNN |
483 |
|
17 |
HIST |
740 |
SPK |
479 |
|
18 |
CMDY |
734 |
TVLD |
479 |
|
19 |
AMC |
722 |
HGTV |
476 |
|
20 |
DISC |
691 |
FOOD |
467 |
|
21 |
CORT |
686 |
VH1 |
437 |
|
22 |
CNN |
654 |
HIST |
429 |
|
23 |
TLC |
654 |
AMC |
420 |
|
24 |
TVLD |
645 |
FAM |
418 |
|
25 |
FAM |
580 |
CMDY |
418 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Oct. 15 |
|
Rank |
Program |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
Ravens/Broncos |
ESPN |
9455 |
|
2 |
Flavor of Love 2 |
VH1 |
4856 |
|
3 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
3834 |
|
4 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
3650 |
|
5 |
College Football Saturday |
ESPN |
3638 |
|
6 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3060 |
|
7 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2981 |
|
8 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2951 |
|
9 |
Celebrity Paranormal Trailer |
VH1 |
2896 |
|
10 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2858 |
|
11 |
UFC Final Chapter-Tito/Shamrock |
SPK |
2838 |
|
12 |
Sportscenter |
ESPN |
2825 |
|
13 |
Project Runway |
BRAV |
2821 |
|
14 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2749 |
|
15 |
Nip Tuck |
FX |
2666 |
|
16 |
Avatar |
NICK |
2603 |
|
17 |
Avatar |
NICK |
2520 |
|
18 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2513 |
|
19 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
2510 |
|
20 |
Ned Declassified |
NICK |
2439 |
|
21 |
Jimmy Neutron |
NICK |
2385 |
|
22 |
Drake & Josh |
NICK |
2336 |
|
23 |
Drake & Josh |
NICK |
2323 |
|
24 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2270 |
|
25 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2266 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Oct. 15 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
ESPN |
747 |
ADSM* |
381 |
|
2 |
USA |
522 |
NICK |
331 |
|
3 |
VH1 |
502 |
ESPN |
315 |
|
4 |
SPK |
494 |
TBSC |
285 |
|
5 |
TBSC |
489 |
TNT |
280 |
|
6 |
MTV |
402 |
NAN* |
261 |
|
7 |
FX |
387 |
MTV |
250 |
|
8 |
TNT |
366 |
VH1 |
232 |
|
9 |
CMDY |
341 |
USA |
228 |
|
10 |
NAN |
267 |
SPK |
213 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Oct. 15 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
Flavor of Love 2 |
VH1 |
3367 |
|
2 |
Ravens/Broncos |
ESPN |
2958 |
|
3 |
UFC Final Chapter-Tito/Shamrock |
SPK |
2210 |
|
4 |
Celebrity Paranormal Trailer |
VH1 |
1989 |
|
5 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
1590 |
|
6 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
1471 |
|
7 |
South Park |
CMDY |
1435 |
|
8 |
Nip Tuck |
FX |
1333 |
|
9 |
Project Runway |
BRAV |
1258 |
|
10 |
College Football Saturday |
ESPN |
1225 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Oct. 15 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
ESPN |
1553 |
TNT |
619 |
|
2 |
USA |
1097 |
ESPN |
608 |
|
3 |
TBSC |
893 |
NICK |
529 |
|
4 |
TNT |
875 |
TBSC |
500 |
|
5 |
SPK |
829 |
ADSM* |
497 |
|
6 |
VH1 |
735 |
USA |
493 |
|
7 |
FX |
710 |
NAN* |
423 |
|
8 |
AEN |
621 |
LIF |
421 |
|
9 |
CMDY |
581 |
FX |
392 |
|
10 |
MTV |
554 |
AEN |
378 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Oct. 15 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
Ravens/Broncos |
ESPN |
6393 |
|
2 |
Flavor of Love 2 |
VH1 |
4904 |
|
3 |
UFC Final Chapter-Tito/Shamrock |
SPK |
3162 |
|
4 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2863 |
|
5 |
Celebrity Paranormal Trailer |
VH1 |
2803 |
|
6 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2679 |
|
7 |
College Football Saturday |
ESPN |
2491 |
|
8 |
Nip Tuck |
FX |
2475 |
|
9 |
Project Runway |
BRAV |
2279 |
|
10 |
Sportscenter |
ESPN |
2171 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Oct. 15 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank |
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
ESPN |
1570 |
TNT |
638 |
|
2 |
USA |
1078 |
ESPN |
585 |
|
3 |
TNT |
950 |
USA |
493 |
|
4 |
TBSC |
806 |
LIF |
454 |
|
5 |
SPK |
756 |
TBSC |
428 |
|
6 |
SCIF |
640 |
NICK |
401 |
|
7 |
AEN |
628 |
AEN |
389 |
|
8 |
FX |
628 |
FX |
355 |
|
9 |
LIF |
576 |
NAN* |
343 |
|
10 |
VH1 |
535 |
SPK |
343 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Oct. 15 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
Ravens/Broncos |
ESPN |
6408 |
|
2 |
Flavor of Love 2 |
VH1 |
3556 |
|
3 |
UFC Final Chapter-Tito/Shamrock |
SPK |
2685 |
|
4 |
College Football Saturday |
ESPN |
2533 |
|
5 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2521 |
|
6 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2371 |
|
7 |
Project Runway |
BRAV |
2136 |
|
8 |
Nip Tuck |
FX |
2096 |
|
9 |
Celebrity Paranormal Trailer |
VH1 |
1976 |
|
10 |
Sportscenter |
ESPN |
1972 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
