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[08/23/15 - 08:47 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Tops Viewers, Shares Demo Crown
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

Primetime Preliminary Fast National Nielsen Data
(includes all DVR playback through 3:00 am)

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (8/29/15):

CBS (4.666 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1) was the most-watched network on Saturday with its repeat lineup of "Scorpion" (4.040 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T8), "48 Hours" (4.692 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) and another "48 Hours" (5.266 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2).

The silver then went to ABC (3.238 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1) with repeats of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (3.507 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) and "Beyond the Tank" (2.859 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) plus the finale of "Boston EMS" (3.348 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2).

Next up was NBC (2.887 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1) with a repeat "Running Wild with Bear Grylls" (3.161 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1), followed by the season finale of "Aquarius" (3.159 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) and the penultimate "Hannibal" (2.341 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T8).

And finally, second runs of "Bullseye" (2.966 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T8) and "Home Free" (2.615 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #11) on FOX (2.791 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) closed out the evening.

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

· An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Michael Keaton and musical guest Carly Rae Jepsen, averaged a 2.4 rating, 6 share in household results in Nielsen's 56 metered markets and a 1.0/5 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with Local People Meters, matching the show's highest 18-49 rating in the local people meters in nine weeks (since June 20, with host and musical guest Blake Shelton, 1.1/6).

· Over that span, "SNL" also earned a 1.0 rating in 18-49 last week (with host Scarlett Johansson and musical guest Wiz Khalifa) and on July 18 (with host Kevin Hart and musical guest Sia).

· In metered-market households, last night's 2.4 is the show's highest rating since the July 18 telecast (2.4/7).

· Last night's "SNL" was the #1 program of the night on the Big 4 networks in 18-49 in the Local People Meters, beating all the night's primetime programming on those networks. Versus the same night last year, "SNL" was up +4% in 18-49 (2.4 vs. 2.3) and up +11% in 18-49 in the Local People Meters (1.0 vs. 0.9).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals this season growing by an average of +44% going from "live plus same day ratings" to "live plus seven day" in adults 18-49 (from a 1.84 rating to a 2.65).


Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/23/14):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to significant local NFL pre-season preemptions, all Fast Nationals are inflated.]

ABC (5.443 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.3, #1) was the top draw on Saturday with its coverage of the "NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Bristol" (5.443 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.3, #1).

CBS (5.313 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2) then claimed the silver with its telecast of "NFL Preseason: Saints at Colts" (5.313 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2).

Next up was NBC (3.708 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with its primetime portion of "The P&G 2014 U.S. Gymnastics Championships" (3.669 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3) and a repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.787 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3).

And finally, repeats of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (1.320 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5), another "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (1.109 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #6) and "Glee" (0.951 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.2, #7) closed out the night for FOX (1.083 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4).

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

·An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Josh Hutcherson and musical guest Haim, averaged a 2.3/6 in household results in Nielsen's 56 metered markets and a 0.9/4 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with Local People Meters, to tie as the #1 telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in 18-49 in the Local People Meters with CBS's Saints-Colts NFL Preseason telecast (0.9 each).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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