Betty keeps going strong

Ugly Betty, the ABC show produced by Salma Hayek and based on the popular Colombian telenovela "Betty la Fea" continues to receive high acclaim ... and ratings.

Thursday, despite the World Series (unless you're from St. Louis or Detroit did you really care who won? It was more like rooting for Albert v. Pudge) the show was not too affected. The show averaged a 4.2 with 18-49 and 13.2 million total viewers giving them an 8.9 rating in their time slot, according to Nielsen overnights. The show beat out Survivor in its time slot.

I've written about the power of telenovelas in the past. The long-term verdict is still out on Ugly Betty. While it's based on the concept of Hispanic telenovelas, it is different in that it's more like a sitcom/series than a traditional telenovela, which has an ending. Also, telenovelas highly appeal to Hispanic men, what with the passion and women and all. Ugly Betty has male viewers (including yours truly) and they will be key to the show's long-term success.