The 2014 BET Awards was the big winner for most watched cable shows in black households. The cable special set a record for total viewing audience. However, black viewership dropped by 6% from last year’s total audience, from 7 million to 6.5 million, reports Target Market News.
During the last week of June, VH1 was the most watched cable network during prime time in black households, with 8.1 million viewers across four shows. BET took second place with its single airing of its awards show. Third place went to OWN, which booked 5.4 million for four shows.
The total number of viewers for the Top 25 most popular cable offerings among black viewers, according to Nielsen, was up 11% from the previous week to 34.8 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.
Top 25 Cable Shows in Black Households
Rank | Program | Network | AA Rating | AA Share | AA Viewers 2+(000)
| 1 | BET AWARDS SHOW | BET | 26.2 | 38.2 | 6,576 |
| 2 | LOVE & HIP HOP ATLANTA | VH1 | 15.5 | 24.3 | 3,389 |
| 3 | HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS | OWN | 12.7 | 18.5 | 2,662 |
| 4 | HIT THE FLOOR | VH1 | 10.3 | 15.0 | 2,281 |
| 5 | LOVE & HIP HOP ATLANTA | VH1 | 8.0 | 11.5 | 1,686 |
| 6 | WWE ENTERTAINMENT | USA | 5.8 | 8.4 | 1,235 |
| 7 | NBA DRAFT | ESPN | 5.7 | 9.2 | 1,099 |
| 8 | ZAPPED | DISNEY | 5.5 | 9.6 | 1,348 |
| 9 | WWE ENTERTAINMENT | USA | 5.5 | 8.0 | 1,096 |
| 10 | GIRL MEETS WORLD | DISNEY | 5.2 | 8.4 | 1,279 |
| 11 | THE BOONDOCKS | ADULT SWIM |
5.1 | 7.4 | 1,028 |
| 12 | HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS | OWN | 5.1 | 7.4 | 1,072 |
| 13 | WWE FRI NIGHT SMACKDOWN | SYFY | 4.6 | 7.9 | 1,005 |
| 14 | WWE ENTERTAINMENT | USA | 4.6 | 7.2 | 993 |
| 15 | HOLLYWOOD EXES | VH1 | 4.4 | 6.7 | 778 |
| 16 | BAD GIRLS CLUB | OXYGEN | 4.3 | 6.8 | 814 |
| 17 | HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS | OWN | 4.3 | 6.7 | 780 |
| 18 | LOVE THY NEIGHBOR | OWN | 3.8 | 5.8 | 943 |
| 19 | I DIDNT DO IT | DISNEY | 3.6 | 5.9 | 836 |
| 20 | FAMILY GUY | ADULT SWIM |
3.5 | 5.0 | 690 |
| 21 | MARRIED TO MEDICINE | BRAVO | 3.5 | 5.0 | 585 |
| 22 | AMERICAN DAD | ADULT SWIM |
3.4 | 5.6 | 719 |
| 23 | AMERICAN DAD | ADULT SWIM |
3.4 | 5.1 | 648 |
| 24 | AMERICAN DAD | ADULT SWIM |
3.4 | 5.0 | 675 |
| 25 | AMERICAN DAD | ADULT SWIM |
3.4 | 4.9 | 638 |
Source: The Nielsen Co.