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[02/07/16 - 08:37 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Tops Charts with New Hampshire Republican Debate
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 seven ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (2/6/16):

ABC (11.634 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1) was the top draw in primetime with its coverage of "The New Hampshire Republican Debate" (11.634 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1).

CBS (4.392 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) then claimed the silver with its specials "Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials All-Star Countdown" (4.000 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) and "5th Annual NFL Honors" (4.589 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2).

Next up was NBC (3.686 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) with a two-hour "Dateline NBC" (3.934 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) and a repeat "Saturday Night Live" (3.191 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3).

And finally, encores of "The X-Files" (2.007 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #7) and "Lucifer" (1.801 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #6) on FOX (1.904 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) closed out the night.

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

· The Feb. 6 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Larry David and musical guest The 1975, averaged a 5.1 rating, 12 share in household results from the 56 markets metered-by Nielsen Media Research and a 2.4/11 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· "Saturday Night Live" is up +9% versus the show's season averages for originals in both households (5.1 vs. 4.7) and in 18-49 in the local people meters (2.4 vs. 2.2).

· Versus the show's one original telecast in February of last year, "SNL" grew +34% in metered-market households (5.1 vs. 3.8 on Feb. 28, 2015) and up +26% in 18-49 in the local people meters (2.4 vs. 1.9).

· In households, last night's "Saturday Night Live" tied for the #3 rating of the season to date, behind only the Nov. 7 telecast (with host Donald Trump and musical guest Sia, 6.6/16) and the Jan. 16 edition (with host Adam Driver and musical guest Chris Stapleton following an NFL Playoff overrun, 5.4/14), and tied with the Dec. 19 telecast (with hosts Tina Fey & Amy Poehler and musical guest Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, 5.1/13).

· "Saturday Night Live" tied for the #1 telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in in 18-49 in the local people meters, tying ABC's coverage of the Republican Presidential debate (2.4/9).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals growing by +49% going from L+SD to L+7 in national adult 18-49 ratings (1.94 to 2.89) and +2.231 million persons in total viewers (6.406 million to 8.637 million).


Here are the highlights of the eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (2/7/15):

NBC (5.223 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) was the demo champ on Saturday thanks to a two-hour "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (5.795 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T1) and a repeat of "Saturday Night Live" (4.081 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3).

ABC (2.688 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2) then claimed the silver with a rebroadcast of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (2.688 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4).

Next up was CBS (5.503 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3) and repeats of "NCIS" (4.980 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #8) and "NCIS: New Orleans" (4.911 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5) followed by a new "48 Hours" (6.617 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T1).

And finally, FOX (1.825 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) closed out the evening with a new "Red Band Society" (1.772 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5) and the finale of "Red Band Society" (1.878 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

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

·An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Amy Adams and musical guest One Direction, averaged a 3.1 rating, 8 share in household results in Nielsen's 56 metered markets and a 1.3/6 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with Local People Meters, making it the #1 telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49 in the Local People Meters, ahead of all primetime programs on the Big 4 networks in that key measure.

·In metered-market households, it's the #3 "SNL" encore since last March, trailing over that span only the Jan. 3 post-NFL rebroadcast (3.6/10 with host Woody Harrelson and musical guest Kendrick Lamar) and the Jan. 10 encore (3.3/8 with host Jim Carrey and musical guest Iggy Azalea).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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