nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, october 27, 2012)

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

ABC (7.61 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) was the top demo draw on Saturday with its coverage of "College Football: Notre Dame at Oklahoma" (7.61 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1).

FOX (8.59 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) then had to settle for second place despite its broadcast of the "World Series, Game 3" (8.59 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2).

Next up was CBS (4.40 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) with repeats of "Hawaii Five-0" (3.41 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #6) and "Criminal Minds" (4.70 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) followed by a new "48 Hours" (5.08 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3).

And finally, NBC (2.46 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) was out of the hunt with repeats of "Revolution" (1.98 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #8), "Chicago Fire" (2.38 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #7) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.03 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5).

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

* An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Seth MacFarlane and musical guest Frank Ocean (4.1/10 in metered-market households), hit a two-year high for an "SNL" rebroadcast in metered-market households, delivering the show's highest rating for an encore edition since November 6, 2010 (with a telecast hosted by Jane Lynch and featuring musical guest Bruno Mars).

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 2.0 rating, 9 share in adults 18-49, "SNL's" top rating in the Local People Meters with a rebroadcast in eight months (since February 25, with an episode hosted by Charlie Day and featuring musical guest Maroon 5).

* Versus the same night last year, "SNL" was up 21 percent in metered-market households (4.1 vs. 3.4) and up 11 percent in the Local People Meters (2.0 vs. 1.8).

* In national ratings so far this season, original telecasts of "Saturday Night Live" are up versus one year ago by 7 percent in 18-49 rating (with a 2.9 vs. a 2.7, "most current") and up 4 percent in total viewers (7.5 million vs. 7.2 million).

Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (10/29/11):

"Saturday Night College Football" (6.72 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) kept ABC (6.72 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) in front on Saturday night.

FOX (4.33 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) then claimed the silver with the return of "America's Most Wanted" (4.37 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T2) followed by a second hour of "America's Most Wanted" (4.30 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T2).

Next up was CBS (3.65 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with a full hour of "How I Met Your Mother" (2.05 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #7) repeats, a repeat of "Criminal Minds" (3.38 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #6) and a new "48 Hours Mystery" (5.53 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4).

And finally, last-minute encores of "Chuck" (1.93 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #9) and "Grimm" (2.23 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #8) led into a repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.83 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5) on NBC (2.67 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4).

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

An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live" (3.5/8 in metered-market households, Boston and Hartford currently excluded), hosted by Ben Stiller with musical guest Foster the People, dominated the time period.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters (Boston currently excluded), "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 1.8 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49. The "SNL" encore was the #1 non-sports telecast of the night in the Local People Meters ahead of all primetime entertainment telecasts on ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox

Source: Nielsen Media Research