or


[03/09/14 - 05:17 PM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: NBC Rises to Top with Premiere of "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery"
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

Primetime Preliminary Fast National Nielsen Data
(includes all DVR playback through 3:00 am)

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (3/8/14):

NBC (4.516 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1) pulled into the top spot on Saturday with the debut of "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (5.177 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T1) followed by a repeat of "Saturday Night Live" (3.195 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T1).

Second place then went to CBS (3.024 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) with encores of "The Amazing Race" (1.853 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5), another "The Amazing Race" (2.086 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) and a new "48 Hours" (5.133 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3).

Next up was FOX (1.559 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) with second runs of "Almost Human" (1.896 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and "The Following" (1.222 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8).

And finally, rebroadcasts of "Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Oscars" (1.975 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6), "Once Upon a Time" (1.246 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and another "Once Upon a Time" (1.371 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) on ABC (1.530 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) closed out the night.

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

· "Saturday Night Live," with host Lena Dunham and musical guest The National, averaged a 4.1/11 in household results in Nielsen's 56 metered markets and a 2.1/10 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with Local People Meters, making it the #1 telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in both metered-market households and 18-49 rating in the Local People Meters.


Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/9/13):

FOX (2.652 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) was the top demo draw on a low-key Saturday thanks to its mix of a new "Cops" (3.341 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T1) followed by repeats of "Cops" (3.530 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T1) and "The Following" (1.869 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T7).

CBS (4.546 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) then was the most-watched network with encores of "Person of Interest" (4.042 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T9) and "48 Hours" (4.134 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #6) plus a new "48 Hours" (5.463 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3).

Next up was ABC (3.391 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) with rebroadcasts of "Once Upon a Time" (0.000 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T9) and a two-hour "20/20" (0.000 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T4).

And finally, NBC (2.156 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) closed out the night with its mix of "American Ninja Warrior" (2.176 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T7), "Chicago Fire" (1.878 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #11) and a primetime "Saturday Night Live" (2.414 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T4).

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

* "Saturday Night Live," with host and musical guest Justin Timberlake, averaged a 5.9/15 in metered-market households, the show's top overnights in 14 months, since January 7, 2012 (with host Charles Barkley and musical guest Kelly Clarkson on the night of a primetime NFL playoff game). "SNL" scored the #1 rating of the night among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in metered-market households, topping all primetime telecasts on those networks.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, last night's "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 3.7 rating, 18 share in adults 18-49, the show's highest result in the LPMs since January 7, 2012. "SNL" delivered the top rating of the night among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in the Local People Meters, more than tripling the result of each primetime program on those networks.

* Versus the same night last year, "SNL" is up 37 percent in metered-market households (with a 5.9 rating vs. a 4.3) and up 42 percent in 18-49 rating in the 25 Local People Meter markets (3.7 vs. 2.6). Last night's telecast featured appearances by Dan Aykroyd, Alec Baldwin, Candice Bergen, Chevy Chase, Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, Martin Short and Paul Simon.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [march 2014]  
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.