nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, april 16, 2011)

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

ABC (3.10 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1) was the modest winner on Saturday with a rebroadcast of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (3.10 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T2).

NBC (4.46 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T2) then took home the silver with rebroadcasts of "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (4.31 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.75 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T2).

CBS (4.84 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T2) offered up encores of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (4.02 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6), "Hawaii Five-0" (4.85 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) and a new "48 Hours Mystery" (5.65 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.2, #1).

And finally, the original movie "Truth Be Told" (2.30 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6) on FOX (2.30 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) rounded out the night.

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

An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live" (3.9/10 in metered-market households), hosted by Gwyneth Paltrow and featuring musical guest Cee Lo Green, 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 or Fox.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 2.0 rating, 9 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 nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (4/17/10):

Mainstays "Cops" (4.72 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) and "America's Most Wanted" (5.41 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) proved to be enough to put FOX (5.06 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1) in front on Saturday.

Second place then went to ABC (3.80 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) with repeats of "Shark Tale" (3.57 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T4) and "Castle" (4.26 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T6).

Next up was NBC (4.46 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) with its all-repeat lineup of "The Biggest Loser" (2.04 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #9), "Law & Order" (5.57 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T4) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.78 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2).

And finally, CBS (2.95 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) was out of the hunt despite a repeat of "NCIS: Los Angeles" (3.58 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #8) and the return of "Strikeforce Saturday Night Fights" (2.63 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T6).

Source: Nielsen Media Research