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[03/06/16 - 09:01 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: NBC Pulls in Front with "Dateline"
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 nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (3/5/16):

NBC (4.271 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with its duo of "Dateline NBC" (4.934 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1) and a repeat "Saturday Night Live" (2.946 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1).

CBS (3.864 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) then claimed the silver with repeats of "NCIS: Los Angeles" (3.406 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5) and "48 Hours" (3.223 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5) plus a new "48 Hours" (4.962 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1).

Next up was ABC (1.747 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) and its coverage of "NBA Countdown" (1.458 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) and "NBA on ABC" (1.805 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4).

And finally, repeats of "Rosewood" (1.300 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) and "Lucifer" (1.290 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) on FOX (1.294 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) closed out the night.

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

· The March 5 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Jonah Hill and musical guest Future, averaged a 4.0 rating, 10 share in household results from the 56 markets metered-by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.8/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· "Saturday Night Live" was the #1 telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in both metered-market households and in 18-49 in the local people meters, outrating all primetime programming on those networks in both categories. In 18-49 in the local people meters, "SNL" more than doubled each primetime Big 4 program last night.

· "SNL" maintained 100% of its rating for the same night last year in metered-market households (4.0 vs 4.0 on March 7, 2015).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals growing by +48% going from L+SD to L+7 in adults 18-49 (1.98 to 2.94) and +2.260 million persons in total viewers (6.509 million to 8.769 million).


Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/7/15):

NBC (3.032 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1) was the demo champ on Saturday with the return of "Caught on Camera with Nick Cannon" (2.546 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4) and the inaugural installment of "Premier Boxing Champions" (3.130 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1).

ABC (4.271 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2) then claimed the silver with a special "20/20" (4.090 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4) followed by the time period launch of "In an Instant" (4.362 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2).

Next up was CBS (3.993 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) and repeats of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (3.416 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9) and "CSI: Cyber" (3.911 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7) plus a new "48 Hours" (4.653 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.567 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) served up second runs of "The Last Man on Earth" (1.979 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7), another "The Last Man on Earth" (2.282 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4) and "Sleepy Hollow" (1.003 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9) to close out the evening.

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

· "Saturday Night Live," with host Chris Hemsworth and musical guest Zac Brown Band, averaged a 4.0 rating, 10 share in household results in Nielsen's 56 metered markets and a 2.0/10 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with Local People Meters,

· "SNL" is the #1 telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in metered-market households and adults 18-49 in the Local People Meters, ahead of all primetime programs on the Big 4 networks in both measures.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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