nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, february 5, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (5.43 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with full hours of "Cops" (5.60 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #1) and "America's Most Wanted" (5.25 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2).

Second place then fell to ABC (4.59 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) with encores of "Wipeout" (4.25 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) and "Shrek the Third" (4.76 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3).

Next up was CBS (5.58 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3) with its mix of "NCIS" (6.14 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7), "48 Hours Mystery" (5.20 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7) and another "48 Hours Mystery" (5.41 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #6).

And finally, repeats of "Harry's Law" (3.80 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #10), "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (4.05 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #9) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.78 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5) on NBC (4.21 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3) rounded out the night.

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

"Saturday Night Live" (5.6/13 in metered-market households) hosted by Dana Carvey with musical guest Linkin Park, dominated its time period with the #1 rating of the night ahead of all primetime telecasts on ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox. Versus the same night last year, "SNL" is up 4 percent in metered-market households (5.6 versus 5.4).

"Saturday Night Live" scored its second-highest rating of the season in metered-market households, behind only the January 8 telecast, which benefited from a high-rated primetime NFL game on NBC that night.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 3.3 rating, 13 share in adults 18-49, making it the #1 non-sports telecast of the night, ahead of all primetime entertainment programs on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. In the 25 Local People Meter markets, "Saturday Night Live" scored its second-highest 18-49 rating of the season, behind only the January 8 telecast, which benefited from a high-rated primetime NFL game on NBC that night.

Here are the highlights of the seven ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (2/6/10):

Coverage of the "NASCAR: Budweiser Shootout" (7.51 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) easily put FOX (7.51 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) in front on Saturday.

Second place then went to ABC (3.75 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2) with its presentation of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (3.75 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3).

Next up was CBS (5.83 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with its combination of "Front of the Class" (5.65 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5) and "48 Hours Mystery" (6.18 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3).

And finally, repeats of "Mercy" (2.52 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #7), "Law & Order" (4.28 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #6) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.71 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) on NBC (4.17 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research