"SNL" EQUALS ITS HIGHEST WEEK 2 RATING IN EIGHT YEARS IN PRELIM METERED-MARKET HOUSEHOLD RATINGS

In Late-Night Metered-Market Ratings for Saturday Night:

· The Oct. 8 edition of "Saturday Night Live" is currently equaling the show's highest Week 2 rating in eight years in Nielsen's metered markets.

· Last night's "Saturday Night Live," with host Lin-Manuel Miranda and musical guest Twenty One Pilots, is currently scoring a 5.2 rating, 13 share in "live plus same day" household results from the local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 2.4/12 in adults 18-49 in the markets with local people meters. Note that averages currently exclude Charlotte, Orlando, Jacksonville, Norfolk, Raleigh-Durham and West Palm Beach.

· With a telecast featuring appearances by Alec Baldwin, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey, last night's "Saturday Night Live" equaled the show's highest Week 2 household rating in the metered markets since the Sept. 20, 2008 edition, hosted by James Franco with musical guest Kings of Leon, which scored a 5.7 rating. Last night's 5.2 was equaled over that span by the Oct. 1, 2011 Week 2 telecast hosted by Melissa McCarthy with musical guest Lady Antebellum.

· In adult 18-49 results in the 25 markets with local people meters, last night's 2.4 for "Saturday Night Live" was the show's highest Week 2 rating since Oct. 5, 2013 (2.7 with host and musical guest Miley Cyrus).

· Last night's telecast is currently up +24% from the show's October 2015 average for original telecasts in metered-market households (5.2 vs. 4.2) and +20% in 18-49 in the local people meters (2.4 vs. 2.0 for October 2015).

· The show's Oct. 1 season premiere, hosted by Margot Robbie and featuring musical guest The Weeknd as well as the first appearance by Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump, averaged a 5.8 rating, 15 share in metered-market households and a 2.7 rating, 14 share in 18-49 in the local people meters.

· National ratings, including viewer totals, for last night's "Saturday Night Live" are due from Nielsen on Tuesday.

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with last week's season premiere growing by +3.491 million viewers overall going from "live plus same day" to "live plus three day" official-national Nielsens (8.297 million to 11.788 million) and by +56% in national adult 18-49 rating (2.34 to 3.64).

· The L+3 viewer total of 11.788 million for the Oct. 1 debut telecast made it the most-watched "SNL" season premiere in 22 years, since the Sept. 24, 1994 opener hosted by Steve Martin with musical guest Eric Clapton (12.201 million).

Saturday Primetime Ratings:

With the NASCAR Spring Cup race from Charlotte postponed due to weather, NBC aired encores of "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (0.4/2 in 18-49, 2.3 million viewers overall) and "SNL Vintage" (0.5/2 in 18-49, 2.0 million viewers overall) in primetime.

NOTE: Ratings are "live plus same day" from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise indicated.