nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, november 26, 2011)

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

ABC (5.17 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) held onto top honors on Saturday with the penultimate week of "Saturday Night College Football" (5.17 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) coverage.

FOX (3.05 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) then claimed the silver with a full hour of "Cops" (4.31 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) and "Terra Nova" (1.80 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5).

Next up was CBS (4.15 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3) with repeats of a full hour of "How I Met Your Mother" (2.61 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5), "Unforgettable" (3.96 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5) and a new "48 Hours Mystery" (5.87 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3).

And finally, encores of "The 85th Anniversary of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" (2.59 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5) and "Bee Movie" (3.22 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) on NBC (3.01 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3) closed out the night.

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

An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Melissa McCarthy with musical guest Lady Antebellum, averaged a 3.6/9 in metered-market households. "SNL" delivered its highest metered-market household rating for a rebroadcast since July 16 (with host Justin Timberlake and musical guest Lady Gaga). "SNL" matched its 3.6 rating for the same night last year.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, the "Saturday Night Live" encore averaged a 2.0 rating, 9 share in adults 18-49, making it the #1 telecast of the night in the Local People Meters, topping all primetime programming on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. "SNL" scored its highest 18-49 rating in the Local People Meters for a rebroadcast since July 16 (with host Justin Timberlake and musical guest Lady Gaga) and equaled its highest LPM rating for an encore since February 26 (with host Anne Hathaway and musical guest Florence + The Machine). Last night's "SNL" matched its 2.0 rating for the same night last year.

Here are the highlights of the eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (11/27/10):

ABC (6.90 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.0, #1) pulled in front on Saturday thanks to its weekly "Saturday Night College Football" (6.90 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #1) coverage.

CBS (6.27 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T2) then claimed the silver with repeats of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (5.36 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T5), "CSI: Miami" (6.27 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) and a new "48 Hours Mystery" (7.16 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2).

Next up was NBC (3.85 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T2) with encores of "Merry Madagascar" (3.49 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T5), "Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special" (3.35 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T5) and the feature "Bee Movie" (4.06 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3).

And finally, FOX (2.93 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) was out of the hunt with its broadcast of "Click" (2.93 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T5).

Source: Nielsen Media Research