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[12/26/16 - 06:56 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: FOX, UFC Win Christmas Eve Race
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 eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (12/24/16):

FOX (4.701 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) was the top draw on Christmas Eve with its special "UFC on FOX" (4.701 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1).

NBC (4.492 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) then served up its annual rebroadcast of "It's a Wonderful Life" (4.492 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2).

Next up was CBS (4.042 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) with repeats of "First Lady Michelle Obama Says Farewell to the White House: An Oprah Winfrey Special" (3.751 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T4), "48 Hours" (4.003 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T4) and another "48 Hours" (4.373 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3).

And finally, encores of "Disney Prep & Landing" (1.878 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7), "Prep & Landing 2: Naughty vs. Nice" (1.741 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) and "CMA Country Christmas" (2.838 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #6) on ABC (2.495 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) closed out the night.

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

"Saturday Night Live" was preempted by Christmas Eve programming.


Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/26/15):

CBS (5.756 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) won the repeat race on Saturday with its mix of "Hawaii Five-0" (4.810 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3), "48 Hours" (5.852 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) and another "48 Hours" (6.605 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.2, #1).

ABC (3.545 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2) then claimed the silver with second runs of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (3.660 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4), another "America's Funniest Home Videos" (3.438 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4) and "20/20 Saturday" (3.538 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4).

Next up was FOX (1.493 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with repeats of "Bones" (1.712 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #7) and "Sleepy Hollow" (1.274 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8).

And finally, an encore of "The Sound of Music Live!" (1.706 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) on NBC (1.706 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #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 Matthew McConaughey and musical guest Adele (2.9/7 in metered-market households, 1.2/6 in adults 18-49 in the local people meters) matched the show's highest 18-49 rating in the local people meters for a rebroadcast since May.

· In the 25 markets with local people meters, the 1.2 for last night's "Saturday Night Live" equaled the show's best rating for an encore since May 30 (1.3/6 with host Cameron Diaz and musical guests Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars).

· Versus the same night last year, "Saturday Night Live" grew by +12% in metered-market households (2.9 vs. 2.6) and +9% in 18-49 in the local people meters (1.2 vs. 1.1)

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, growing by +49% this season going from "live plus same day" to "live plus seven day" ratings in national adult 18-49 results (from a 1.83 rating to a 2.73), and by +2.2 million viewers overall (6.2 million to 8.4 million).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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