nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, april 6, 2013)

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

CBS (15.924 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.1, #1) overshadowed the competition with its primetime coverage of the "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Wichita State vs. Louisville" (18.190 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.6, #1), "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Update" (13.503 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.5, #3) and "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Syracuse vs. Michigan" (15.221 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.1, #2).

Sharing the leftovers then was ABC (2.684 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) with its mix of "The Middle" (2.124 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #13), "How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)" (2.277 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T10), "20/20: General Hospital - The Real Soap Dish" (2.857 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6) and "20/20: Wedding Confidential" (2.994 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6).

Next up was NBC (2.136 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) and its combination of "The Voice" (2.379 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5), "Smash" (1.877 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T10) and "Saturday Night Live" (2.152 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6).

And finally, FOX (1.961 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) closed out the evening with its all-repeat lineup of "Cops" (2.169 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6), another "Cops" (2.468 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) and "The Following" (1.604 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T10).

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

* "Saturday Night Live," with host Melissa McCarthy and musical guest Phoenix, averaged a 4.8/12 in metered-market households. "SNL" scored the #1 non-sports rating of the night among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in metered-market households, topping all primetime entertainment telecasts on those networks.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, last night's "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 2.7 rating, 12 share in adults 18-49. "SNL" delivered the top non-sports rating of the night among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in the Local People Meters, out-rating all primetime entertainment programming on those networks.

Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (4/7/12):

ABC (6.90 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with its annual rebroadcast of "The Ten Commandments" (6.90 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1).

FOX (3.03 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) then claimed second place with a full hour of "Cops" (3.29 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) and an encore of "Bones" (2.76 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T4).

Next up was CBS (3.74 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) with repeats of "How I Met Your Mother" (2.03 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T10), "Mike & Molly" (2.50 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #8) and "Criminal Minds" (4.04 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T4) plus a new "48 Hours Mystery" (4.90 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2).

And finally, a new "Escape Routes" (1.17 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T10) led into repeats of "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" (2.72 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T6), "Best Friends Forever" (1.60 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #9) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (2.93 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T6) on NBC (2.08 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4).

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

"Saturday Night Live" with host Sofia Vergara and musical guest One Direction, averaged a 5.0/13 in metered-market households. "SNL" was the night's #1 telecast in metered-market households, ahead of all primetime programs on ABC, NBC and Fox. Versus the same night last year, "SNL" is up 6 percent in metered-market households (5.0/13 vs. 4.7/12).

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 2.9 rating, 13 share in adults 18-49. "SNL" was the night's #1 program in the Local People Meters, ahead of all primetime telecasst on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. Versus the same night last year, "SNL" is up 16 percent in the Local People Meters (2.9 vs. 2.5).

Source: Nielsen Media Research