or


[09/30/12 - 12:50 PM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: College Football Coverage Keeps ABC in Front
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, september 29, 2012)

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

ABC (4.10 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #1) was the top draw on Saturday with its coverage of "College Football: Wisconsin at Nebraska" (4.10 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #1).

FOX (3.57 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) then took home the silver with its own "College Football: Texas at Oklahoma St." (3.57 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) coverage.

Next up was CBS (4.22 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) with encores of "Vegas" (4.21 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) and "Hawaii Five-0" (3.64 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #6) followed by the season premiere of "48 Hours" (4.82 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3).

And finally, repeats of "Revolution" (2.62 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #7) and a two-hour "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.03 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5) on NBC (3.56 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) closed out the night.

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

· An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Mick Jagger and musical guests Mick Jagger featuring Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters & Jeff Beck (3.6/9 in metered-market households), dominated its time period. This is the highest metered-market rating for an "SNL" rebroadcast since March 24 (with a telecast hosted by Anna Faris with musical guest Drake). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, the "Saturday Night Live" rebroadcast averaged a 1.8 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49. The 1.8 matches the high for an "SNL" encore since March 31 (with an edition hosted by Katy Perry with musical guest Robyn).

· "Saturday Night Live" was the #1 telecast of the night on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in the Local People Meters, outscoring all primetime programs on those networks.

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


Here are the highlights of the six ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (10/1/11):

CBS (7.65 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1) shot to the top spot on Saturday with its annual primetime "SEC College Football" (7.65 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1) coverage.

ABC (5.61 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) then settle for second place with its weekly "Saturday Night College Football" (5.61 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) franchise.

Next up was FOX (2.87 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with a rebroadcast of the "Terra Nova" (2.87 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) premiere.

And finally, repeats of "Harry's Law" (4.10 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #6), "Prime Suspect" (4.56 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.15 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) on NBC (4.60 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) rounded out the night.

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

"Saturday Night Live" (5.2/13 in metered-market households), hosted by Melissa McCarthy with musical guest Lady Antebellum, dominated its time period, delivering the #1 rating of the night ahead of all primetime telecasts on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. Versus the prior week's season premiere, "SNL" is up 2 percent in metered-market households (5.2/13 vs. 5.1/13).

Versus the same night last year, "Saturday Night Live" is up 8 percent in metered-market households (5.2/13 vs. 4.8/12).

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 #1 telecast of the night ahead of all primetime programs on ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox. Versus the prior week's season premiere, "SNL" is up 4 percent in the Local People Meters (2.7/12 vs. 2.6/12).

Versus the same night last year, "Saturday Night Live" is up 8 percent in the Local People Meters (2.7/12 vs. 2.5/11).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [september 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.