nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, february 19, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (4.94 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) cruised to the top spot on Saturday with its usual combination of "Cops" (5.07 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T1) and "America's Most Wanted" (4.81 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T1).

ABC (3.72 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) then snagged the silver with repeats of "Wipeout" (3.46 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T6) and the feature "Over the Hedge" (3.85 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3).

Next up was CBS (5.38 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) with encores of "CSI: NY" (4.43 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #8) and "Criminal Minds" (5.58 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5) followed by a new "48 Hours Mystery" (6.13 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3).

And finally, repeats of "Harry's Law" (4.25 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9), "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (3.88 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.43 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T6) on NBC (4.52 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) rounded out the night.

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

An encore telecast of �Saturday Night Live" (3.7/9 in metered-market households) hosted by Paul Rudd with musical guest Paul McCartney, dominated its time period.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, �Saturday Night Live� averaged a 2.0 rating, 9 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.

Here are the highlights of the seven ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (2/20/10):

Night nine of the "Winter Olympics 2010" (25.41 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.8, #1) lifted NBC (25.41 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 6.8, #1) over the competition on Saturday.

The silver then went to FOX (5.03 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) with its usual mix of "Cops" (5.24 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) and "America's Most Wanted" (4.83 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3).

Next up was CBS (3.96 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3) with repeats of "NUMB3RS" (2.62 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #7) and "Cold Case" (3.75 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5) followed by a new "48 Hours Mystery" (5.52 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4).

And finally, a rebroadcast of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azbakan" (2.50 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5) on ABC (2.50 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research