'SNL WEEKEND UPDATE THURSDAY,' 'THE OFFICE,' AND 'SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL' PACE NBC'S PRIMETIME WEEK OF OCT. 6-12

THE 'NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL' TELECAST OF THE PATRIOTS-CHARGERS GAME IS UP 10 PERCENT IN 18-49 AND 17 PERCENT IN TOTAL VIEWERS VERSUS LAST YEAR'S COMPARABLE GAME

'KATH & KIM' AND 'SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE' HELP BOOST NBC TO ITS BEST NON-SPORTS THURSDAY SINCE MARCH

'KATH & KIM' BUILDS ON ITS 'EARL' LEAD-IN BY 14 PERCENT IN 18-49 AND 38 PERCENT IN 18-34 TO TAKE ITS TOUGH SLOT IN ADULTS AND MEN 18-34

'THE OFFICE' IS #1 FOR THE WEEK AMONG ADULTS 18-34

FIRST OF THREE PRIMETIME 'SNL' THURSDAY SPECIALS SURGES 50 PERCENT VS. NBC'S 18-49 AVERAGE IN THE SLOT LAST SEASON AND TOPS ALL REGULAR 'SNL' TELECASTS IN TOTAL VIEWERS SINCE JANUARY 2001

'ER' WINS ITS THURSDAY HOUR IN ADULTS 18-49, BEATING SERIES PREMIERES ON ABC AND CBS

THROUGH THE FIRST THREE WEEKS OF THE SEASON, NBC IS THE SECOND-YOUNGEST OF THE MAJOR BROADCAST NETWORKS

BURBANK, Calif. � October 14, 2008 � Paced by a strong Thursday primetime performance and "Sunday Night Football," NBC averaged a 2.7 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49 and 7.0 million viewers overall for the week of October 6-12, according to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research

NBC had three of the top 10 and five of the top 15 programs of the week in primetime's key demographic of adults 18-49, with "NBC Sunday Night Football' (#4), "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday" (#5, tie), "The Office" (#7), "Heroes" (#12, tie) and "ER" (#15). (Note: weekly program rankings exclude football post-game and pre-game telecasts).

Among adults 18-34, NBC dominated the weekly program rankings, with three of the top five and six of the top 10 shows of the week, including the #1 and #2 programs � "The Office" (#1), "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday" (#2), "NBC Sunday Night Football" (#5), "Heroes" (#7), the series debut of "Kath & Kim" (#8) and "ER" (#10). Also of note, NBC had the top four programs of the week among men 18-34, with "NBC Sunday Night Football" (#1), "The Office" (#2), "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday" (#3) and "Heroes" (#4) (again excluding football post-game and pre-game telecasts).

Primetime averages for the week of October 6-12 in adults 18-49 were CBS (3.2/9), ABC (3.0/8), Fox (2.7/8), NBC (2.7/7), Univision (1.6/4), CW (0.9/2) and Telemundo (0.5/1). In overall total viewers the weekly averages were CBS (11.0 million), ABC (9.6 million), Fox (8.0 million), NBC (7.0 million), Univision (3.9 million), CW (2.1 million) and Telemundo (1.1 million).

Through the first three weeks of the 2008-09 season, NBC is now the "second youngest" of the major broadcast networks, with a median age of 45.4, only 0.7 years "older" than Fox (44.7). By comparison, CBS's median age is 52.8 and ABC's median age is 50.7.

NBC highlights for the week of October 6-12:

* This week's "NBC Sunday Night Football" telecast of the New England Patriots at the San Diego Chargers was up 10 percent in 18-49 rating and 17 percent in total viewers versus last year's comparable game. The Patriots-Chargers contest ranked #1 in its time period in adults 18-49 and other key demos. "NBC Sunday Night Football" was the #1 program of the week among men 18-49, men 18-34 and men 25-54 (excludes football post and pre-game telecasts).

* On Thursday, "My Name Is Earl" delivered season-high results in its time period in both adults 18-49 and total viewers.

* Also on Thursday, the series premiere of "Kath & Kim" built on its "Earl" lead-in by 14 percent in adults 18-49 and 38 percent in adults 18-34. "Kath & Kim" won its tough time period in adults and men 18-34, topping CBS's "Survivor," ABC's "Ugly Betty" and CW's "Smallville" in those demos, and ranked #2 in adults 18-49 behind only "Survivor."

* "The Office" on Thursday won its extremely competitive half-hour in adults and men 18-34, topping the season premiere of CBS's "CSI," ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and Fox's baseball telecast in those demos. "The Office" matched its strong season-premiere rating in this half-hour two weeks ago, despite facing significant additional competition from the season premiere of "CSI."

* "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday" jumped 50 percent in 18-49 rating and 43 percent in total viewers versus NBC's averages in this time period last season. With 10.9 million total viewers, this "SNL" special, the first of three Thursday primetime editions, topped every regular "SNL" telecast since January 20, 2001 in overall viewership.

* "ER" won its Thursday time period in adults 18-49, topping the series premieres of "Eleventh Hour" on CBS and "Life on Mars" on ABC. "ER" sewed up its highest 18-49 rating and largest overall viewership since November 15, 2007.

* On Tuesday, a one-hour edition of "The Biggest Loser" gained 15 percent in 18-49 rating versus its performance in the time period a week earlier, delivering NBC's highest non-Olympic rating in the slot since April 15.

* On Monday, "Heroes" won its intensely competitive hour in adults 18-34, men 18-34 and men 18-49.

Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day."

Additional NBC highlights for the week of October 6-12:

On Monday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. ET, "Chuck' (2.3 rating, 6 share in adults 18-49, 5.8 million viewers overall) tied Fox's "Terminator" in adults 18-49 and topped the rival drama in the hour in adults 18-34 and total viewers. From its first half-hour to its second, "Chuck" increased by 9 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 2.4 from a 2.2).

Monday from 9-10 p.m. ET, "Heroes" (4.0/9 in 18-49, 8.2 million viewers overall) ranked #1 in its intensely competitive hour in adults 18-34, men 18-34 and men 18-49.

At 10 p.m. ET, a special Monday telecast of "Life" (2.2/6 in 18-49, 5.6 million viewers overall) ranked #2 among the broadcast networks in adults 18-49 (tied with ABC's "Boston Legal"), men 18-49, adults 18-34 and women 18-34 and was #1 in the hour among men 18-34.

On Tuesday, Oct. 7 from 8-9 p.m. ET, "The Biggest Loser 6" (3.1/8 in 18-49, 7.3 million viewers overall) delivered NBC's highest 18-49 rating in this hour since April 15, excluding Olympics. "Loser" finished within two shares of the slot lead in adults 18-49 and won the competitive hour in adults and women 18-34.

"Biggest Loser" gained 15 percent in 18-49 rating versus the prior week in the Tuesday 8-9 p.m. hour (3.1 vs. 2.7) and added 6 percent in total viewers (7.2 million vs. 6.8 million). Versus its 9-10 p.m. telecast on the same night last year, "Loser" was up 15 percent in 18-49 rating and up 11 percent in total viewers (7.3 million vs. 6.5 million).

Tuesday, NBC aired the Presidential Debate as sustaining programming, which is not counted in the nightly or weekly averages. From 10:35-11 p.m. ET, NBC News' "Decision '08" analysis of the debate averaged a 2.9/7 in adults 18-49, a 3.4/8 in adults 25-54 and 8.3 million viewers overall.

On Wednesday, Oct. 8 from 8-9 p.m. ET, "Knight Rider" (2.3/7 in 18-49, 6.9 million viewers overall) tied for #2 in adults 18-49 and ranked #2 outright in all key adult-male demographics � men 18-34, men 18-49 and men 25-54. From its first half-hour to its second, "Knight Rider" increased 14 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 2.4 from a 2.1).

From 9-10 p.m. ET, a special Wednesday edition of "The Biggest Loser" (2.7/7 in 18-49, 6.6 million viewers overall) was a solid #2 in the hour in adults 18-49, topping first-run episodes of ABC's "Private Practice" and Fox's "Til Death." "Biggest Loser" also ranked #2 in women 18-34 and all key adult-male demos � men 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. From its first half-hour to its second, "Loser" gained 16 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 2.9 from a 2.5).

Wednesday from 10-11 p.m. ET, "Lipstick Jungle" averaged a 1.9/5 in 18-49 and 4.8 million viewers overall.

On Thursday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. ET, "My Name is Earl" (2.8/8 in 18-49, 7.2 million viewers overall) scored NBC's highest 18-49 rating and overall viewership in this time period so far this season. "Earl" was up 12 percent in 18-49 and 14 percent in total viewers versus its average in this half-hour with two 60-minute telecasts earlier this season. "Earl" ranked #2 in the time slot in adults 18-49 and #1 in adults 18-34 (tied) and men 18-34.

Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET, the series premiere of "Kath & Kim" (3.2/9 in 18-49, 7.5 million viewers overall) built on its "Earl" lead-in by 14 percent in 18-49 rating and by 5 percent in total viewers. In adults 18-34, "Kath & Kim" built on its lead-in by 38 percent (3.3 vs. 2.4). "Kath & Kim" won its tough time period in adults and men 18-34, topping CBS's "Survivor," ABC's "Ugly Betty" and CW's "Smallville" in those demos, and ranked #2 in adults 18-49 behind only "Survivor."

Thursday from 9-9:31 p.m. ET, "The Office" (4.8/12 in 18-49, 9.3 million viewers overall) won its extremely competitive half-hour in adults and men 18-34, topping the season premiere of CBS's "CSI," ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and Fox's baseball telecast in those demos. "The Office" matched its strong season-premiere rating in this half-hour two weeks ago (4.6 vs. 4.8), despite facing significant additional competition from the season premiere of "CSI."

Thursday from 9:31-10:01 p.m. ET, "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday" (5.1/12 in 18-49, 10.9 million viewers overall) surged 50 percent in 18-49 rating and 43 percent in total viewers versus NBC's averages in this time period last season (3.4 in 18-49 and 7.6 million viewers). With 10.9 million total viewers, this "SNL" special topped every regular "SNL" telecast since January 20, 2001 in overall viewership.

The first of three special Thursday primetime editions of "SNL," the telecast built on its strong "Office" lead-in by 6 percent in 18-49 and 17 percent in total viewers. "SNL" won its highly competitive time period among men 18-34, and tied "Grey's Anatomy" for the slot lead in adults 18-34.

Thursday from 10:01-11 p.m. ET, "ER" (3.9/11 in 18-49, 9.4 million viewers overall) won its time period in adults 18-49, topping the series premieres of "Eleventh Hour" on CBS and "Life on Mars" on ABC. "ER" sewed up its highest 18-49 rating and biggest overall audience since November 15, 2007.

"ER" was up 11 percent in 18-49 rating versus the same night last year, when it did not face series premiere competition.

On Friday, Oct. 10 from 8-9 p.m. ET, "America's Toughest Jobs" (1.2/4 in 18-49, 4.0 million viewers overall) increased week-to-week by 20 percent in 18-49 rating (1.2/4 vs. 1.0/3) and 17 percent in total viewers (4.0 million vs. 3.4 million). At 9 p.m., "Deal or No Deal" (1.5/5 in 18-49, 6.7 million viewers overall) won the hour in total viewers and ranked #1 among the broadcast networks in men 18-34, men 18-49 (tied) and men 25-54. From its first half-hour to its second, "Deal" increased by 21 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 1.7 from a 1.4) and by 15 percent in total viewers (to 7.1 million from 6.2 million). At 10 p.m., "Life" (1.4/4 in 18-49, 5.0 million viewers overall) tied for #1 among the broadcast networks in men 18-34 and ranked #2 in men 18-49.

On Saturday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. ET, the special "Macy's Passport Celebrity Catwalk Challenger" averaged a 0.5/2 in 18-49 and 2.0 million viewers overall. At 9 p.m., an encore telecast of "Knight Rider" (0.8/2 in 18-49, 2.7 million viewers overall) built on its lead-in from the previous hour by 60 percent in 18-49 rating. From 10-11 p.m., a rebroadcast of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1.2/4 in 18-49, 4.7 million viewers overall) built on its lead-in by 50 percent in 18-49 rating and 73 percent in total viewers.

On Sunday, Oct. 12, the "NBC Sunday Night Football" telecast of the New England Patriots at the San Diego Chargers averaged a 5.2/13 in adults 18-49, 13.1 million viewers overall and an 8.2/13 household rating/share for its full duration from 8:23-11:02 p.m. ET. The game ranked #1 in its time period in primetime's key demographic of adults 18-49.

Sunday's Patriots-Chargers game was up 10 percent in 18-49 rating and 17 percent in total viewers versus the comparable game last year (a 4.7/12 in 18-49 and 11.2 million viewers overall for the Saints-Seahawks on October 14, 2007).

For the night (from 7:30-11 p.m. ET), NBC averaged a 4.4/11 in 18-49 and 11.2 million viewers overall. NBC ranked #1 for the night in adults 18-49 (tied with Fox), adults 18-34 (tied with Fox), men 18-34 (tied with Fox) and men 18-49 (note: Sunday primetime averages NBC 7:30-11 p.m. ET vs. Fox 7-11 p.m.).

This marks the 11th consecutive Sunday in which NBC has ranked #1 or tied for #1 in adults 18-49.

Also on Sunday, "Football Night in America 2" from 7:30-7:57 p.m. ET averaged a 1.0/3 in 18-49, 2.9 million viewers overall and a 1.9/3 household rating/share. "Football Night in America 3" from 7:57-8:15 p.m. delivered a 2.8/8 in 18-49, 7.6 million viewers overall and a 4.7/8 in households. From 8:15-8:23 p.m., "NBC Sunday Night Football Pre Kickoff" averaged a (3.8/11 in 18-49, 10.0 million viewers overall and a 6.1/10 in households. Note: "Football Night in America" from 7-7:30 p.m. ET was sustaining programming and does not figure in the nightly or weekly primetime averages.