Black 'Idol' viewers drop by almost a third after Jasmine Murray's exit

Black 'Idol' viewers drop by almost a third after Jasmine Murray's exit (March 17, 2009) Fox's "American Idol" went from a big black audience gain to a serious drop off after last week. The show, which saw the exit of African-American contestant Jasmine Murray, had a 28 percent decrease from the previous week's black household figures. Lil Rounds is the only remaining black contestant.With "Idol" out of the top three, ABC grabbed the No.1 spot with "Dancing With the Stars," followed by CBS' interview with President Barack Obama on "60 Minutes." ["American Idol" was still No.1 and No.2 with white audiences]. CBS had no trouble holding on to the title of most watched TV network in black households, posting 18.6 million for its Top 25 shows. ABC knocked Fox out of second with its 10.2 million, compared with Fox's 6.7 million.The total number of viewers watching the Top 25, according to Nielsen Media Research was -- again -- 38.2 million.

Top 20 Broadcast Shows in Black Households
Rank Program Network

1 DANCING WITH THE STARS ABC

2 60 MINUTES CBS

3 CSI: MIAMI CBS

4 AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY FOX

5 AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY FOX

6 CSI: NY CBS

7 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES ABC

8 CRIMINAL MINDS CBS

9 THE MENTALIST CBS

10 WITHOUT A TRACE CBS

11 NCIS CBS

12 DANCING W/STARS RESULTS ABC

13 CBS NCAA BSKBL CHMP-SA-4 CBS

14 GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM ABC

15 LAW AND ORDER:SVU NBC

16 COLD CASE CBS

17 PRIVATE PRACTICE ABC

18 THE UNIT CBS

19 THE GAME CW

20 CBS NCAA BSKBL CHP-EVETH1 CBS

Source: Nielsen Media Research. Number of viewers ages 2+ shown in millions. 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 measurement samples. All times eastern.