"SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" DELIVERS ITS TOP OVERNIGHTS SINCE MAY

HOSTED BY JIMMY FALLON AND FEATURING MUSICAL GUEST MICHAEL BUBLÉ, 'SNL'S' CHRISTMAS EDITION UNWRAPS THE SHOW'S HIGHEST NIELSENS SINCE ITS MAY 21 SEASON FINALE

'SNL' TOPS ITS YEAR-AGO RESULTS AND IS THE #1 TELECAST OF THE NIGHT AHEAD OF ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS ON ABC, CBS, NBC AND FOX

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - December 18, 2011 - The December 17 edition of "Saturday Night Live" has delivered the show's highest overnight ratings since its 2010-11 season finale last May, according to in-home viewing figures from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research.

Last night's telecast, hosted by Jimmy Fallon and featuring musical guest Michael Bublé, dominated its time period with a 5.3 rating, 13 share in metered-market households. It's "SNL's" highest metered-market household rating since the show's season finale on May 21, 2011, an episode hosted by host Justin Timberlake and featuring musical guest Lady Gaga. The 5.3 rating was the #1 result of the night in Nielsen's metered markets, ahead of all primetime telecasts on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 3.0 rating, 13 share in adults 18-49, making it the #1 telecast of the night by that measure, topping all primetime programming on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. In fact, "SNL" tripled the next-highest-rated telecast on any of those networks (3.0 vs. 1.0 for Fox's "America's Most Wanted" special from 8-10 p.m. ET).

Versus the same night last years, the December 17 edition of "Saturday Night Live" was up 8 percent in metered-market households (with a 5.3 rating vs. a 4.9) and up 3 percent in the Local People Meters (3.0 vs. 2.9).

The December 17 telecast of "Saturday Night Live" was a Christmas-themed edition that featured guest appearances by former "SNL" regulars Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Tracy Morgan, Rachel Dratch, Horatio Sanz and Chris Kattan, plus a cameo by Jude Law.

National ratings, including viewer totals, for last night's "Saturday Night Live" are due from Nielsen on Thursday, December 22.