HispanicBusiness

The backboard battles of the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers were the top ratings winner for the week of June 2-8. Games one and two of the NBA championship playoffs slam-dunked their way to the top of the Hispanic viewer charts, grabbing ratings of 7.9 and 7.8 as the most-watched English-language shows, according to numbers released by the Nielsen Media Group.

Action features also took third and fourth rankings for most-watched programs among U.S. Hispanics, with the perennial fan favorite FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN edging out Fox's SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE.

A competition of an entirely different sort also barged into the list of most popular programs: HELL'S KITCHEN, claiming the eighth spot. The show is a goulash of leftover ingredients stolen from other realty shows and reheated, but somehow adding its own spice to the mix. Each week sees the elimination of one young aspiring chef, usually departing in bitter tears or rage. Presiding over the chaotic cooking contests is the supremely arrogant, world-renown chef Gordon Ramsesy. The show caught the fancy of 537,000 Hispanic viewers.

Among Spanish-language broadcast, the finale episodes of AL DIABLO CON GUAPOS decisively dominated the ratings, attracting an average of 4.4 million viewers each weeknight. The soap opera is fast approaching its climactic conclusion.

Taking third place in the Spanish-language program ratings was Univision's DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA, the hour-long interview show hosted by TV superstar Don Francisco (Mario Kreutzberger). "Senor Francisco" was seen by 3,274,000 viewers. Other telenovelas in the top ten included CRISTINA, YO AMO JUAN QUERENDON, and PASSION, with its ardent love story set in colonial Mexico.

The following lists are TV ratings 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 airing. Nielsen says that the Hispanic TV audience represents more than 11.63 million television households in the U.S. 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 (June 2-8, 2008)
1. NBA Finals, Game 1 – Thursday (ABC) 7.9
2. NBA Finals, Game 2 –Sunday (ABC) 7.8
3. Friday Night Smackdown – Friday (CW) 3.8
4. So You Think Can Dance – Thursday (Fox) 3.5
4. CSI: Miami – Saturday (CBS) 3.5
4. So You Think Can Dance – Wednesday (Fox) 3.5
4. GMC NBA Countdown – Tuesday (Fox) 3.5
8. Hell's Kitchen – Tuesday (Fox) 3.3
9. Dateline – Sunday (NBC) 3.1
9. American Dad – Sunday (Fox) 3.1
9. Moment of Truth – Tuesday (Fox) 3.1

Top 10 Spanish-language shows and their ratings (June 2-8, 2008)
1. Al Diablo con Guapos – Five-Night Avg. (Univision) 20.3
2. Fuego En La Sangre – Five-Night Avg. (Univision) 19.8
3. Don Francisco Presenta – Wednesday (Univision) 17.0
4. Cristina – Monday (Univision) 15.2
5. Yo Amo Juan Querendon – Five-Night Avg. (Univision) 13.7
6. Amas Casa Desesperads – Thursday (Univision) 12.7
7. Fabrica de Risas – Friday (Univision) 12.0
8. Aqui Y Ahora – Tuesday (Univision) 11.8
9. Sabado Gigante – Saturday (Univision) 11.0
10. Pantera – Sunday (Univision) 8.3