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[10/21/12 - 08:41 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Tops Demos with College Football, CBS Leads Viewers
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, october 20, 2012)

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

ABC (4.60 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) was the top demo draw on Saturday with its weely "College Football: Florida State at Miami/Baylor at Texas" (4.60 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) coverage.

CBS (4.82 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) then was the most-watched network with repeats of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (4.45 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6), "Person of Interest" (4.52 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4) and a new "48 Hours" (5.48 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2).

Next up was NBC (2.82 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) and its all-repeat lineup of "Revolution" (1.94 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #8), "Chicago Fire" (2.73 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.79 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3).

And finally, FOX (2.25 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) was out of the hunt with its "College Football: K-State at West Virginia" (2.25 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6) coverage.

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

* "Saturday Night Live," with host Bruno Mars (5.4/14 in metered-market households), dominated its time period with the show's highest rating in more than seven months (since March 3 with a telecast hosted by Lindsay Lohan featuring musical guest Jack White). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 2.9 rating, 13 share in adults 18-49, "SNL's" top rating in the Local People Meters since September 22 (with an episode hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt featuring musical guest Mumford & Sons). Versus "SNL's" year-ago average for October originals, last night's telecast is up 10 percent in metered-market households (5.4 vs. 4.9) and up 12 percent in the Local People Meters (2.9 vs. 2.6).

* "Saturday Night Live" was the #1 telecast of the night on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in the metered-market households and the Local People Meters, outscoring all primetime programs on those networks. In the Local People Meters, "SNL" beat the #2 program of the night on ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox by an 81 percent margin (2.9 vs. a 1.6 for ABC's Florida State-Miami college football).

* In national ratings for far this season, original telecasts of "Saturday Night Live" are delivering up versus one year ago by 8 percent in 18-49 rating (with a 2.8 vs. a 2.6, "most current") and 1 percent in total viewers (7.1 million vs. 7.0 million). In 18-49, "SNL" is the #1 Saturday series this season on the major networks, ahead of every Saturday primetime show 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 (10/22/11):

FOX (11.38 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1) wiped the floor with the competition on Saturday thanks to its coverage of the "World Series, Game 3" (11.38 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1).

A distant second place then went to CBS (4.62 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) with its mix of "Two and a Half Men" (4.08 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4), "Mike & Molly" (3.91 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3), "Hawaii Five-0" (4.32 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5) and "48 Hours Mystery" (5.55 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2).

Next up was NBC (2.62 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) with its rare primetime coverage of "College Football: USC at Notre Dame" (2.62 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5).

And finally, ABC (2.23 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) closed out the evening with its broadcast of "Saturday Night College Football" (2.23 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #7).

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

An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Alec Baldwin with musical guest Radiohead, averaged a 3.4/8 in metered-market households. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 1.8 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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