or


[09/26/10 - 09:29 AM]
The Season Premiere of 'Saturday Night Live' Deliver Gains Versus Its Year-Ago Debut in Nielsen's Metered Markets
NBC spins the numbers for Saturday, September 25.
[via press release from NBC]

THE SEASON PREMIERE OF 'SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE' DELIVER GAINS VERSUS ITS YEAR-AGO DEBUT IN NIELSEN'S METERED MARKETS

HOSTED BY AMY POEHLER AND FEATURING MUSICAL GUEST KATY PERRY, THE 36TH SEASON PREMIERE OF 'SNL' SCORES THE #1 RATINGS OF THE NIGHT AHEAD OF ALL PRIMETIME TELECASTS ON ALL MAJOR NETWORKS

EXCLUDING THE ELECTION-BOOSTED DEBUT IN 2008, 'SNL' MATCHES ITS HIGHEST SEASON-OPENING RATING SINCE 2005

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. � September 26, 2010 � The 36th season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" has delivered a 15 percent increase on its season-opening rating of one year ago, according to in-home viewing figures from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research. Note that current metered-market averages are based on Nielsen "live plus same day" data while ratings for earlier years were drawn from "live only" results.

With a telecast hosted by Amy Poehler and featuring musical guest Katy Perry, last night's "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 5.3 household rating, 13 share in the metered markets, up from last year's 4.6/11 for the September 26, 2009 season-opening telecast.

Excluding the 2008 premiere, which was boosted by interest in that year's Presidential election and featured a guest appearance by Tina Fey as Gov. Sarah Palin, last night's 5.3 household rating in the metered markets matches the show's highest debut since 2005 (with host Steve Carell and musical guest Kanye West, 5.8/14 on October 1, 2005). The 5.3 ties the 2006 season opener (with host Dane Cook and musical guest The Killers, 5.3/13 on September 30, 2006).

Last night's telecast of "Saturday Night Live" was the #1 program of the night, topping all primetime telecasts on all major networks in metered-market household ratings.

In the 25 markets with local people meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 3.2 rating, 14 share in adults 18-49, also making it the #1 telecast of the night ahead of all primetime programming on all major networks. Versus the year-ago debut (2.8 rating), "SNL" is up 14 percent in the local people meters.

The September 25 telecast of "Saturday Night Live" featured guest appearances by Justin Timberlake, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch and Jimmy Fallon in the opening monologue, Maya Rudolph in a reprise of Amy Poehler's "Bronx Beat" sketch and New York Gov. David Paterson in Weekend Update, taking "SNL" to task for its past depictions of him.

National ratings, including viewer totals, for last night's "Saturday Night Live" are due from Nielsen on Thursday, September 30.





  [september 2010]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (NBC)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/31/25 - 02:22 PM]
FOX Sports Hits 14.6 Million Viewers for Game 5 of the World Series
The telecast reached a peak viewership of 16,034,000 viewers on FOX between 10:00-10:15 PM ET.
[10/31/25 - 10:42 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Scares Up More Wins - Rising for Historic Sixth Week in a Row
"Dancing with the Stars" is the only fall show to increase its overall audience for six consecutive weeks following its season premiere.
[10/31/25 - 06:31 AM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Record College Football Viewership at the Midway Point of the Season, "College GameDay" Continues on Historic Run
Through nine weeks, ESPN networks are averaging 2.3 million viewers per game, their largest audience since 2009 and an increase of 20 percent year-over-year.
[10/30/25 - 03:05 PM]
14.8 Million Viewers Tuned in for World Series Game 4 Across FOX, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports Streaming Services
Viewership peaked at 16,695,000 viewers on FOX between 10:00-10:15 PM ET.
[10/30/25 - 03:01 PM]
Debut of NBC Sports' "Coast 2 Coast Tuesday" Delivers NBA's Largest Pre-Christmas Tuesday Audience Since 1996
"Coast 2 Coast Tuesday" - featuring the New York Knicks at Milwaukee Bucks (8 p.m. ET) and LA Clippers at Golden State Warriors (11 p.m. ET) - averaged 3.0 million viewers in primetime across NBC and Peacock.
[10/28/25 - 02:07 PM]
"Sunday Night Football" on Record Pace Through Week 8, Averaging 24.7 Million Viewers on NBC and Peacock
Packers-Steelers audience peaked at 28.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).
[10/28/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 20 - "A House of Dynamite" Hits the Target at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Nobody Wants This," "The Elixir," and "The Monster of Florence" rise to the top in their opening weekends.
[10/27/25 - 12:03 PM]
Second-Most Viewed NBA Opening Week on ESPN Since 2014; "Inside the NBA" Averaged 1M Viewers in Its Opening Week Debut on ESPN
Last week's NBA coverage averaged 2.2 million viewers.
[10/24/25 - 02:54 PM]
ESPN's Third-Most Watched NBA Season-Opening Wednesday Ever
The two-game slate averaged 2.33 million viewers, up 44 percent from last year.
[10/24/25 - 02:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's Most-Watched Newsmagazine Across the Board
In addition, "20/20" posted its best Adults 25-54 in more than four months.
[10/24/25 - 02:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 4th Straight Week
"Nightline" grew year to year across the board: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.
[10/24/25 - 01:05 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Makes Television History - Rising for Fifth Straight Week
The October 21 episode scored 6.63 million Total Viewers and a 1.38 rating among Adults 18-49, hitting new season highs in both demographics.
[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM]
Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock
Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.
[10/23/25 - 11:28 AM]
"High Potential" Rises to Season High as Show Nears Fall Finale
ABC's popular drama rose to a multiplatform season high in Total Viewers (12.50 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.31 rating) after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.
[10/22/25 - 03:06 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched ALCS Game Since 2017
9,028,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports streaming services for the Toronto Blue Jays' ALCS Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.