"SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" GRABS ITS SECOND-HIGHEST NIELSENS OF THE 2010-11 SEASON

HOSTED BY DANA CARVEY AND FEATURING MUSICAL GUEST LINKIN PARK, THE FEB. 5 'SNL' TOPS EVERY EPISODE OF THE SHOW THIS SEASON EXCEPT THE JAN. 8 NFL-BOOSTED TELECAST

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - February 10, 2011 - The February 5 edition of "Saturday Night Live" has delivered the show's second-highest Nielsen results in adults 18-49 and total viewers for the 2010-11 season to date.

The February 5 telecast, hosted by Dana Carvey with musical guest Linkin Park, averaged a 3.1 rating, 12 share in adults 18-49 and 8.3 million viewers overall to dominate the time period. The February 5 ratings topped all "SNL" results for this season to date except the January 8 episode, hosted by Jim Carrey and featuring musical guest The Black Keys, which was boosted by a primetime NFL telecast.

For the night, "Saturday Night Live" delivered the #1 results in 18-49 and total viewers over all primetime telecasts on ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox. In fact, in 18-49, "SNL" outscored every Saturday non-sports primetime program on those networks since January 14, 2006.

Versus the same night last year, "Saturday Night Live" is up 7 percent in 18-49 rating (3.1 vs. 2.9) and 19 percent in total viewers (8.293 million vs. 6.963 million). Season to date, "Saturday Night Live" is up 1 percent in adult 18-49 viewers (3.830 million vs. 3.796 million) and up 7 percent in total viewers (7.472 million vs. 6.973 million).

Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day."