nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, april 9, 2011)

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

FOX (6.56 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1) maintained its Saturday reign thanks to its coverage of "NASCAR '11: Texas 500" (6.56 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1).

ABC (3.45 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) then took home the silver with a rebroadcast of "War of the Worlds" (3.45 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T3).

Next up was CBS (4.54 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3) with encores of "The Mentalist" (4.05 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T6) and "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior" (4.28 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5) followed by a new "48 Hours Mystery" (5.28 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T3).

And finally, repeats of "Harry's Law" (3.45 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #8), "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (3.76 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T6) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.11 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2) on NBC (4.11 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3) rounded out the evening.

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

"Saturday Night Live" (4.7/12 in metered-market households), hosted by Helen Mirren with musical guest Foo Fighters, dominated its time period. "SNL" was the #1 telecast of the night in metered-market households ahead of all primetime programs on ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 2.5 rating, 11 share in adults 18-49, making it the #1 non-sports telecast of the night, outscoring 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 (4/10/10):

Coverage of "NASCAR '10: Phoenix 500" (5.78 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T1) kept FOX (5.78 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) in the top spot on Saturday.

Second place then went to CBS (5.67 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) with repeats of "CSI: Miami" (4.77 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7), "Criminal Minds" (5.64 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) and a new "48 Hours Mystery" (6.61 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T1).

Next up was NBC (3.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3) with second runs of "Parenthood" (2.52 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #9), "Law & Order" (3.71 million viewers, #T6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.45 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3).

And finally, repeats of "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" (2.29 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T5) and "Castle" (3.71 million viewers, #T6; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T5) on ABC (2.77 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research