nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, march 12, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

Mainstays "Cops" (4.82 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T1) and "America's Most Wanted" (4.94 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T1) lifted FOX (4.88 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) to the top spot among adults 18-49 on Saturday.

CBS (4.89 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) was the most-watched network with repeats of "NCIS" (4.06 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #8) and "NCIS: Los Angeles" (5.55 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4) followed by a new "48 Hours Mystery" (5.04 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4).

Next up was NBC (4.31 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) with its all-encore lineup of "Harry's Law" (4.24 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T9), "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (3.81 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T9) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.89 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3).

And finally, ABC (2.90 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) closed out the evening with its mix of "Wipeout" (3.09 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4), "Rascal Flatts: Nothing Like This Presented by JCPenney" (2.53 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #11) and "Secret Millionaire" (3.07 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4).

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

"Saturday Night Live" (4.8/12 in metered-market households), hosted by Zach Galifianakis with musical guest Jessie J, dominated its time period. "SNL" was the #1 telecast of the night in metered-market households ahead of all primetime programs on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. Versus the same night last year, "SNL" is up 7 percent in metered-market households (4.8 vs. 4.5).

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 2.9 rating, 13 share in adults 18-49, making it the #1 telecast of the night, outscoring all primetime programs on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/13/10):

Full hours of "Cops" (6.57 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #1) and "America's Most Wanted" (6.26 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) had no trouble keeping FOX (6.42 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) in front on Saturday.

Second place then went to CBS (4.92 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) with repeats of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (3.14 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T8), "Criminal Minds" (4.90 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5) and a new "48 Hours Mystery" (6.74 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3).

Next up was NBC (3.85 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with its all-repeat lineup of "Parenthood" (2.89 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #7), "Law & Order" (3.76 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.9, #6) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.91 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4).

And finally, a two-hour encore of "Desperate Housewives" (2.16 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #10) and "Jimmy Kimmel Live: After The Academy Awards" (1.74 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T8) on ABC (2.02 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research