HispanicBusiness

Nearly 1 million Hispanic households tuned in to watch Sanjaya Malakar, a vocally challenged contestant with a large U.S. fan base, advance on Fox's "American Idol" during its Wednesday results show, according to figures released by the Nielsen Media Group for the week of March 26-April 1.

Wednesday's "American Idol" was the No. 1 show in the Hispanic TV ratings for English-language programs, posting a 7.8 mark. It outdistanced Tuesday night's "Idol" (6.3), which featured pop star Gwen Stefani and a host of contestants singing tunes from Ms. Stefani's rock group, No Doubt. Tuesday's show also featured a Sanjaya performance punctuated by an outlandish "ponyhawk" hair style that created a buzz on talk shows and sites throughout the Internet. Chris Sligh, who told the judges in an earlier episode that he was "bringing chubby back," received the fewest amount of votes and was eliminated on Wednesday's show.

Two offerings from ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" finished third and fourth behind "American Idol." The dancers earned Nielsen marks of 6.0 on Monday and 5.6 on Tuesday in the Hispanic TV ratings. Fox's "Til Death," a sitcom that follows the "American Idol" results show on Wednesday nights, rounded out the top five with a 4.5 rating.

Fox productions accounted for six of the top nine shows in the ratings for English-language programs this week.

Univision's "Fea Mas Bella" maintained its stranglehold on the Spanish-language TV ratings, but the debut of a new telenovela gave the runaway hit some competition last week. "Fea Mas Bella compiled a five-night average of 22.9 to top all other programs. Its Monday and Wednesday shows attracted the most viewers, drawing identical 23.8 ratings, or more than 2.7 million Hispanic households. "Destilando Amor," another five-nights-a-week telenovela from Univision, posted a 20.1 average rating and the weekly talk show "Cristina" rounded out the top three with an 18.8 mark.

Nielsen's figures, however, have their detractors. One group has started a petition, hoping Nielsen Media Group will change the way it samples the U.S. Hispanic population in its English and Spanish TV ratings. The Help Change TV group, which has a petition at www.HelpChangeTV.com, claims that Nielsen does not include enough U.S.-born Hispanics in its audience sample, leading to the impression that a vast majority of Hispanics watch Spanish-language TV.

The following lists are TV ratings based on Hispanic viewership. Nielsen's ratings include viewers who watched the program while it aired and others who viewed the shows via digital video recorder within 24 hours of their airing. The group says that the Hispanic TV audience represents more than 11.63 million television households in the United States. The rating is equivalent to the percentage of households or persons watching a TV program during the average minute.

Top 10 English-language shows (March 26-April 1)
1. American Idol – Wednesday (Fox), 7.8
2. American Idol – Tuesday (Fox), 6.3
3. Dancing with the Stars – Monday (ABC), 6.0
4. Dancing with the Stars – Tuesday (ABC), 5.6
5. Til Death (Fox), 4.5
6. Lost (ABC), 4.1
7. Family Guy (Fox), 4.0
8. House (Fox), 3.8
9. American Dad (Fox), 3.7
10. Friday Night Smackdown (CW), 3.6

Top 10 Spanish-language shows (March 26-April 1)
1. Fea Mas Bella – five-night avg. (Univision), 22.9
2. Destilando Amor – five-night avg. (Univision), 20.1
3. Cristina (Univision), 18.8
4. Aqui y Ahora (Univision), 17.8
5. Duelo de Pasiones – five-night avg. (Univision), 17.7
6. Don Francisco Presenta (Univision), 16.8
7. Nuestra Belleza – Friday (Univision), 15.8
8. Nuestra Belleza – Tuesday (Univision), 15.6
9. Bailando Boda Suenos (Univision), 15.4
10. Sabado Gigante (Univision), 12.7