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 (3/11/17):

ABC (2.144 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1) was the demo champ on Saturday with its coverage of "NBA Countdown" (1.899 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and "NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC" (2.193 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1).

CBS (3.503 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) then topped the viewership chart with its mix of "Ransom" (2.506 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (3.534 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4) and "48 Hours" (4.470 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1).

Next up was NBC (2.519 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) with encores of "The Voice" (3.009 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4), "Taken" (2.103 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and "SNL Vintage" (2.446 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3).

And finally, repeats of "24: Legacy" (0.717 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T9) and "APB" (0.788 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T9) closed out the night on FOX (0.752 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4).

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

· The March 11 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Scarlett Johansson and featuring musical guest Lorde, scored a 4.8 rating, 13 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 2.2/12 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· Versus what "Saturday Night Live" averaged with originals for the month of March last year, the March 11 telecast is up +20% in meter-market households (4.8 vs. 4.0) and up +16% in 18-49 in the local people meters (2.2 vs. 1.9 for the month of March 2016).

· The 4.8 rating in households beats results for the final 10 "Saturday Night Live" originals from last season, while the 2.2 in 18-49 in the local people meters tops last season's final nine first-runs.

· The March 11 "Saturday Night Live" was the #1 telecast of the night on the broadcast networks in both metered-market households and in 18-49 in the local people meters, outrating every Saturday primetime telecast on those nets in both categories.

Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/12/16):

NBC (4.496 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with a two-hour "Dateline NBC" (5.133 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T1) and a vintage "Saturday Night Live" (3.222 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3).

ABC (2.357 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2) then claimed the silver with its coverage of "NBA Countdown" (1.971 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T6) and "NBA on ABC" (2.434 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3).

Next up was CBS (3.735 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3) and repeats of "NCIS" (2.909 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T6), "Criminal Minds" (3.361 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5) and a new "48 Hours" (4.935 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T1).

And finally, encores of "Rosewood" (0.890 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Lucifer" (1.056 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) on FOX (0.973 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) closed out the night.

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

· The March 12 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host and musical guest Ariana Grande, averaged a 4.0 rating, 10 share in household results from the 56 markets metered-by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.9/10 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· "Saturday Night Live" is the #1 telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in both metered-market households and in 18-49 in the local people meters, outrating all primetime programming on those networks in both categories.

· "Saturday Night Live" grew +3% versus the show's average for originals in the month of March last year in metered-market households (4.0 vs 3.9 for March 2015).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals growing by +48% going from L+SD to L+7 in adults 18-49 (1.98 to 2.94) and +2.260 million persons in total viewers (6.509 million to 8.769 million).

Source: Nielsen Media Research