nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, february 11, 2012)

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

NBC (3.96 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) snagged the demo crown on Saturday with encores of Monday's "The Voice" (4.45 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T1) adn "Smash" (2.97 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T6).

FOX (3.61 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) then took home the silver with its penultimate "America's Most Wanted" (3.61 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T3) special.

Next up was CBS (4.48 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with repeats of "Rules of Engagement" (3.08 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T6), "Mike & Molly" (3.46 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T6), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (4.43 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #9) and a new "48 Hours Mystery" (5.74 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T1).

And finally, repeats of "Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown" (3.32 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T3) and "A Charlie Brown Valentine" (3.02 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T3) led into a two-hour "Cougar Town" (1.46 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.5, #10) marathon on ABC (2.03 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4).

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

"Saturday Night Live" (5.0/12 in metered-market households) with host Zooey Deschanel and musical guest Karmin, dominated its time period with the highest rating of the night in metered-market households, ahead of all Saturday primetime telecasts on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. "Saturday Night Live" is up week to week by 6 percent in metered-market households (to a 5.0 rating from a 4.7).

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 3.0 rating, 13 share in adults 18-49 to rank #1 among the night's telecasts ahead of all Saturday primetime programs on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. "SNL" equaled its second highest rating in the Local People Meters this season, behind only the 4.3/18 earned the night of NBC Sports' primetime coverage of the NFL Wild Card playoff game. "Saturday Night Live" is up week to week by 7 percent in the Local People Meters (to a 3.0 rating from a 2.8).

"SNL" matched its results of the same night last year (February 12, 2011 with host Russell Brand and musical guest Chris Brown) in both metered-market households and 18-49 rating in the markets with Local People Meters.

[NOTE: Today's numbers are courtesy of TVMediaInsights.com due to delays from our usual sources.]

Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (2/12/11):

Coverage of the "NASCAR: Bud Shootout" (6.94 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) put FOX (6.94 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) over the top on Saturday.

CBS (5.01 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T2) then took home the silver with its mix of "NCIS: Los Angeles" (4.59 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7), "CSI: Miami" (5.20 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5) and "48 Hours Mystery" (5.25 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4).

Next up was ABC (3.16 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T2) with encores of "Wipeout" (4.11 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T2) and the feature "Hairspray" (2.68 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7).

And finally, repeats of "Harry's Law" (3.62 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #9), "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (4.57 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #6) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.82 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T2) on NBC (4.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) rounded out the evening.

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

"Saturday Night Live" (5.0/12 in metered-market households) hosted by Russell Brand with musical guest Chris Brown, dominated its time period with the #1 rating of the night ahead of all primetime telecasts on ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 3.0 rating, 13 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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research