HispanicBusiness

Critical sports matches were favorites during the week of Oct. 6-12 with the Hispanic television audience -- the National League's championship games 4 and 5 topped the chart of English-language programs viewed by Hispanics, and last Wednesday's Rumbo al Mundial futbol semi-finals broke into Univision's total domination of the top 10 Spanish-language programs.

Hispanics tuned in to the final two games of the Major League Baseball National League Championship Series, with Game 4 barely edging out Game 5. After losing every post-season game since 1993, the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers to earn a spot in the World Series.

Down four spots from last week is Dancing With The Stars, in which the top 10 couples performed either samba or tango. Curiously, the "results show" placed higher on the chart than the show where dancers actually competed. The typical hour where the bottom two couples are revealed at a snail's pace featured a ballroom kids competition, R&B artist Ne-Yo, and flamenco company Los Vivancos. This results show may have drawn the larger audience due to the elimination being based on the combined two-show total -- a measure taken because of Misty May's untimely exit due to tearing her Achilles tendon during rehearsal.

Telemundo managed to land a spot in the top 10, which the prior week was ruled by Univision programming. Granted, the only spot Univision lost was number 10. Wednesday's Rumbo al Mundial semi-final qualifying round put the winners one game closer to a guaranteed spot in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The day featured Chile's first victory over Argentina in over 35 years, after which Argentina's coach decided to quit. Chile is now tied with Brazil for second-place in the South American division. In the European division, Spain, England and the Netherlands remain undefeated.

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

Top 10 English-language shows and ratings (October 6-12, 2008)
1. NL Baseball Championship Game 4 (FOX) 5.4
2. NL Baseball Championship Game 5 (FOX) 5.2
3. Grey's Anatomy (ABC) 4.7
4. Desperate Housewives (ABC) 4.6
5. Family Guy (FOX) 4.6
6. CSI (CBS) 4.5
7. The Simpsons (FOX) 4.2
7. Dancing With The Stars Results (ABC) 4.2
7. Heroes (NBC) 4.2
10. Dancing With The Stars (ABC) 4.0
Top 10 Spanish-language shows and ratings (October 13-19, 2008)
1. Fuego en la Sangre - Five-Night Avg. (Univision) 20.4
2. Cuidado Con El Angel - Five-Night Avg. (Univision) 19.6
3. Querida Enemiga - Five-Night Avg. (Univision) 17.3
4. Aqui Y Ahora - Tuesday (Univision) 15.5
5. Rosa de Guadalupe - Thursday-Friday (Univision) 15.3
6. El Show de los Suenos - Sunday (Univision) 14.9
7. Cristina - Monday (Univision) 14.6
8. Don Francisco Presenta - Wednesday (Univision) 14.0
9. Sabado Gigante - Saturday (Univision) 11.9
10. Rumbo al Mundial - Wednesday Avg. (Telemundo) 9.2