nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, november 24, 2012)

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

ABC (13.93 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.4, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with its coverage of "College Football: Notre Dame at USC" (13.93 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.4, #1).

NBC (3.52 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) then claimed a distant second place with the feature "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (3.52 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2).

Next up was CBS (3.58 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) with the return of "Made in Jersey" (2.52 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #6) followed by a repeat of "NCIS" (3.89 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) and a new "48 Hours" (4.32 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3).

And finally, FOX (1.94 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) closed out the night with its telecast of "College Football: Stanford at UCLA" (1.94 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4).

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

* An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Joseph Gordon-Levitt and musical guest Mumford & Sons, averaged a 3.6/9 in metered-market households. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, last night's "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 1.8 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49.

* "SNL" matched its second-highest rating for an encore in metered-market households since February 25 and second-highest 18-49 rating for a rebroadcast in the Local People Meters since March 31.

Here are the highlights of the eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (11/26/11):

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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research