nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, january 29, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (5.25 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with its usual lineup of "Cops" (5.24 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T2) and "America's Most Wanted" (5.26 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1).

Second place then went to CBS (6.16 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.3, #2) with its mix of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (4.53 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #6), "Criminal Minds" (6.33 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) and "48 Hours Mystery" (7.63 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T2).

Next up was ABC (3.34 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with the feature "Dreamgirls" (3.34 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5).

And finally, a repeat of "Harry's Law" (4.24 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T7) led into primetime coverage of the "U.S. Figure Skating Championships" (3.90 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T7) on NBC (4.01 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4).

In late-night metered-market households Saturday night (via NBC's press release):

"Saturday Night Live" (5.1/12 in metered-market households) hosted by Jesse Eisenberg with musical guest Nicki Minaj and a special appearance by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, dominated its time period. Versus the same night last year, "SNL" is up 1 percent in metered-market households (5.1 versus 5.0).

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 3.2 rating, 14 share in adults 18-49, making it the #1 non-sports telecast of the night, ahead of all primetime entertainment programs on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

In the 25 Local People Meter markets, "Saturday Night Live" tied the September 25 season premiere as the second-highest-rated edition of the season in 18-49, behind only the January 8 telecast, which benefited from a high-rated primetime NFL game on NBC that night.

Here are the highlights of the ninead-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/30/10):

Full hours of "Cops" (6.19 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #1) and "America's Most Wanted" (5.62 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) lifted FOX (5.91 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1) to an easy win on Saturday.

A silver medal then went to CBS (7.25 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) with a repeat of "The Magic of Ordinary Days" (7.32 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5) followed by a new "48 Hours Mystery" (7.11 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3).

Next up was NBC (3.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3) with its "Truth in Motion: The U.S. Ski Team's Road to Vancouver" (1.78 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #9) special along with repeats of "Law & Order" (3.79 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.12 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4).

And finally, repeats of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (2.86 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #6) and "Castle" (4.04 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7) on ABC (3.25 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research