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

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

FOX (4.69 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) held onto the top spot on Saturday with its usual mix of "Cops" (4.53 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T2) and "America's Most Wanted" (4.84 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1).

CBS (4.27 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #2) then took home the silver with its primetime coverage of the "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship" (4.32 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T2) followed by "48 Hours Mystery" (4.17 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T4).

Next up was ABC (3.19 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) with encores of "Wipeout" (3.28 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #7) and the feature "Norbit" (3.15 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T4).

And finally, repeats of "Harry's Law" (3.96 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #9), "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (4.25 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #8) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.42 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #6) on NBC (4.54 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) rounded out the evening.

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

An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live" (3.5/8 in metered-market households), hosted by Jeff Bridges with musical guests Eminem and Lil Wayne, dominated its time period.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 1.8 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49, making it the #1 telecast of the night, outscoring all primetime programs on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

Here are the highlights of the eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/20/10):

Primetime coverage of the "NCAA Basketball Championship" (9.60 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) had no trouble lifting CBS (9.60 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) to the top spot on Saturday.

Mainstays "Cops" (4.92 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) and "America's Most Wanted" (5.24 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) on FOX (5.08 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then had to settle for the silver.

Next up was NBC (2.95 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) with repeats of "Parenthood" (2.37 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #7), "Law & Order" (4.24 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T5) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.25 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4).

And finally, rebroadcasts of "FlashForward" (1.76 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #8) and "Castle" (3.34 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T5) on ABC (2.29 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research