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[05/07/17 - 10:30 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: NBA Playoffs Put ABC on Top
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 seven ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (5/6/17):

ABC (4.417 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1) claimed the top spot on Saturday with its coverage of the "NBA Playoffs: Golden State at Utah" (4.417 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1).

NBC (3.373 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) then was the silver draw with the primetime portion of "NHL Playoffs: Pittsburgh at Washington" (3.722 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2) followed by "SNL Vintage" (2.674 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3).

Next up was FOX (2.154 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) and the return of "FOX Sports Saturday Presents Major League Baseball" (2.154 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5).

And finally, a repeat "NCIS" (3.704 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and new episodes of "Training Day" (3.219 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "48 Hours" (4.283 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) rounded out the night on CBS (3.735 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4).

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

· "Saturday Night Live" has outrated every primetime telecast on the broadcast networks so far this week in adults 18-49 except "The Big Bang Theory," while delivering the most-watched "SNL" May telecast in nearly five years.

· The May 6 edition of "Saturday Night Live," with host Chris Pine and musical guest LCD Soundsystem, averaged 6.919 million viewers overall and a 1.87 rating in adults 18-49 in "fast official" "live plus same day" results from Nielsen Media Research.

· The telecast, which aired live coast to coast (11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT) and counted unduplicated viewers from 11:30 encores in western markets, generated the show's biggest overall audience for a May edition since the May 19, 2012 season finale, (with host and musical guest Mick Jagger, 6.954 million).

· With its 1.87 rating in adults 18-49, the May 6 "Saturday Night Live" ranks as the #2 telecast so far this week on the broadcast networks in adult 18-49 rating, behind only "The Big Bang Theory" (2.48) and edging out "Empire" (1.85).


Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/7/16):

ABC (4.191 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with its coverage of "NBA Countdown" (3.810 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2) and "NBA Playoffs: Golden State at Portland" (4.267 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1).

NBC (3.000 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) then snagged the silver with its primetime portion of "NHL Playoffs: Pittsburgh at Washington" (3.437 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2) and a repeat "Saturday Night Live" (2.127 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5).

Next up was CBS (3.505 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) with repeats of "Scorpion" (2.605 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) and "Criminal Minds" (3.003 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #6) alongside a new "48 Hours" (4.909 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4).

And finally on FOX (0.996 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4), encores of "Houdini & Doyle" (1.168 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) and "American Grit" (0.825 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #9) closed out the night.

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

· The May 7 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Brie Larson and musical guest Alicia Keys, averaged a 4.1 rating, 10 share in household results from the 56 markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.9/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· Excluding the April 23 tribute telecast to Prince, last night's "Saturday Night Live" scored the show's highest metered-market household rating since Feb. 13 (4.4 with host Melissa McCarthy and musical guest Kanye West) and equaled its highest 18-49 rating in the local people meters, again excluding the April 23 tribute to Prince, since that Feb. 13 edition (2.3).

· "Saturday Night Live" rose +11% versus the show's May 2015 average for originals in metered-market households (4.1 vs 3.7 for May 2015) and was up +6% versus the May 2015 average in 18-49 in the local people meters (1.9 vs. 1.8).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals growing by +50% going from L+SD to L+7 in adults 18-49 (1.87 to 2.80) and +2.171 million persons in total viewers (6.193 million to 8.364 million).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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