or


[05/20/12 - 09:04 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: "48 Hours Mystery" Tops in Lackluster Race
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, may 19, 2012)

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

CBS (4.16 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) was the most-watched network on a lackluster Saturday thanks to its mix of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (3.44 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #7), "Criminal Minds" (4.22 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #6) and "48 Hours Mystery" (4.83 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T1).

The silver then went to NBC (4.01 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T1) with encores of "America's Got Talent" (3.83 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.38 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T1).

And finally, the feature "Spider-Man 3" (2.95 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3) on ABC (2.95 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T1) and primetime coverage of the "Saturday Baseball Game of the Week" (2.99 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5) on FOX (2.99 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) rounded out the night.

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

"Saturday Night Live," with host and musical guest Mick Jagger (5.2/13 in metered-market households), dominated its time period with the #1 rating of the night, ahead of all primetime telecasts on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. "SNL" equaled its highest rating in metered-market households since March 3 (with host Lindsay Lohan and musical guest Jack White)

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 2.7 rating, 12 share in adults 18-49, making it 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 (5/21/11):

FOX (4.48 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #1) took home demo honors on Saturday with its coverage of "MLB Primetime" (4.48 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #1).

CBS (5.35 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) however was the most-watched network with repeats of "Hawaii Five-0" (4.39 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #9) and "NCIS" (5.85 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T6) followed by a new "48 Hours Mystery" (5.82 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2).

Next up was NBC (4.04 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) with the series finale of "Chase" (3.67 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T6) alongside repeats of "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (3.72 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T6) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.72 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3).

And finally, the feature "Spider-Man 3" (2.80 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5) on ABC (2.80 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) closed out the evening.

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

The 36th season finale of "Saturday Night Live" has scored the highest metered-market household average for an "SNL" season-closer in seven years and equaled the highest in 11 years. Last night's telecast, hosted by Justin Timberlake and featuring musical guest Lady Gaga, generated a 21 percent increase over last year's season finale, marking the fourth year in a row "SNL" has matched or topped the season finale of the prior year.

The May 21 edition of "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 7.0 rating, 17 share in metered-market household averages, highest for an "SNL" season finale since May 15, 2004, when a telecast hosted by the Olsen Twins and featuring musical guest J-Kwon also averaged a 7.0. The last time an "SNL" season-ender scored higher than a 7.0 was on May 20, 2000, when an edition hosted by Jackie Chan and featuring musical guest Kid Rock earned a 7.3 rating in metered-market households. The year-ago finale scored a 5.8/14 in the local markets and for both the two years before that, the season-closer earned a 5.4. The 2007 finale averaged a 4.9.

Last night's "Saturday Night Live" was the #1 telecast of the night in metered-market households ahead of all primetime programming on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 4.5 rating, 18 share, making it the #1 telecast of the night on ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox. Versus the year-ago season finale, "SNL" was up 32 percent in the Local People Meters (4.5 vs. 3.4).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [may 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/03/25 - 02:17 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting '25 MLB Wild Card Series
Across eight games, the MLB Wild Card Series is averaging 4.4 million viewers, up 65% from last year.

[10/03/25 - 12:07 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues to Shatter Records - Growing Two Weeks in a Row Since Season Premiere for First Time Since 2005
Plus: "High Potential" hit a season high in Total Viewers (4.24 million), growing by double digits over the show's comparable third episode from last fall.

[10/02/25 - 04:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers the Most-Watched WNBA Semifinals Ever
Game 5 between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2.1 million.

[10/02/25 - 02:51 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting Day One of MLB Wild Card Series
Coverage of Red Sox versus Yankees averaged 6.5 million viewers, peaking at 9.9 million.

[10/02/25 - 11:00 AM]
"Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" Season Premieres Hit Their Largest 3-Day Streaming Viewerships Ever
The "Survivor" season 49 premiere grew to 6.83 million viewers with three days of multiplatform viewership; while "The Amazing Race" season 38 premiere grew to 4.01 million viewers.

[10/02/25 - 09:38 AM]
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" Scores on Friday Nights with Biggest Total Viewer Audience in Nearly Two Years
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" stood as the No. 1 program of the night, rising by double digits in Total Viewers over its previous season premiere.

[10/01/25 - 10:27 AM]
"Big Brother" Season Finale Is Most-Watched Episode in Over Three Years
The finale was up +33% from its year ago finale and up +33% from this season's average.

[09/30/25 - 03:44 PM]
ESPN and ABC Win College Football's Week 5; "College GameDay's" Most-Viewed Season Rolls On
ABC is off to its best start ever with 7.1 million average viewers per game, and the network has aired eight of the top 10 most-viewed games this season.

[09/30/25 - 02:08 PM]
Packers-Cowboys OT Thriller Averages 26.9 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock, As NBC Sports Opens with Best Four-Week Audience Average in 20 Seasons of NBC "SNF"
The audience peaked at 29.9 million viewers in the second quarter (9-9:15 p.m. ET).

[09/30/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 22: "Wayward" Lures Viewers at No. 1, "KPop Demon Hunters" Sets Top 10 Record
New on Netflix this week is "House of Guinness," a historical drama series created by Steven Knight, which debuted at No. 3 on the English TV list with 5.2 million views.

[09/30/25 - 10:24 AM]
"High Potential" Season Premiere Vaults to Nearly 16 Million in First Week Across Platforms
This marks ABC's best season premiere for a drama among Total Viewers in five years.

[09/29/25 - 06:06 AM]
ESPN's 2025 MLB Game Viewership Up 21 Percent from Last Year
Coverage delivered 1.8 million viewers on average across 30 games this season.

[09/26/25 - 01:11 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Week Two Delivers Over 5 Million Total Viewers Rising Over Season Premiere for First Time in 14 Years
Once again, the show led its time period and stood as the No. 1 show of the night in Total Viewers (5.46 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.02 rating).

[09/25/25 - 02:05 PM]
Viewers Have Watched More Than 8 Billion Minutes of "Big Brother" This Summer - Up +27% from Last Year
Multiplatform average episode viewership grew to 5.1 million, up +23% versus last year in 35-days of viewing, outpacing the competition.

[09/24/25 - 02:47 PM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Returned on Tuesday to 6.26 Million Total Viewers on Broadcast, According to Initial Live+Same Day Measurement
In addition to linear ratings, the monologue has garnered more than 26 million views across YouTube and social platforms.