nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, april 21, 2012)

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

ABC (3.09 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1) and FOX (2.81 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1) split the adults 18-49 crown on Saturday as the latter served up its final "America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back" (2.81 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) special.

The Alphabet then went with a repeat of "Shark Tank" (3.07 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) followed by a two-hour "20/20: Sunset Boulevard" (3.11 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) special.

Next up was CBS (4.36 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3) with repeats of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (3.59 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #7), "Hawaii Five-0" (4.14 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #6) and a new "48 Hours Mystery" (5.34 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1).

And finally, new episodes of "Escape Routes" (1.14 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "The Firm" (1.75 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) plus a repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.05 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) on NBC (1.98 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) closed out the evening.

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

· An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Daniel Radcliffe and musical guest Lana Del Rey (3.3/8 in metered-market households), dominated its time period.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 1.7 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49. The "SNL" encore was the night's #1 program in the Local People Meters, ahead of all primetime telecasts on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

[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 (4/23/11):

ABC (7.05 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with its annual Easter weekend rebroadcast of "The Ten Commandments" (7.05 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1).

FOX (4.48 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #2) then had to settle for second place with its usual mix of "Cops" (4.32 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) and "America's Most Wanted" (4.65 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2).

Next up was CBS (4.65 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) with repeats of "CSI: NY" (4.03 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T7) and "CSI: Miami" (4.85 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #6) followed by a new "48 Hours Mystery" (5.08 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4).

And finally, the return of "Chase" (3.05 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T7) led into repeats of "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (3.24 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T7) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.03 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5) on NBC (3.44 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4).

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

An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live" (3.6/9 in metered-market households), hosted by Jesse Eisenberg and featuring musical guest Nicki Minaj, dominated its time period.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 1.9 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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research