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[05/08/16 - 09:03 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Tops Charts with NBA Playoffs
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 (5/7/16):

ABC (4.191 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with its coverage of "NBA Countdown" (3.810 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2) and "NBA Playoffs: Golden State at Portland" (4.267 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1).

NBC (3.000 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) then snagged the silver with its primetime portion of "NHL Playoffs: Pittsburgh at Washington" (3.437 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2) and a repeat "Saturday Night Live" (2.127 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5).

Next up was CBS (3.505 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) with repeats of "Scorpion" (2.605 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) and "Criminal Minds" (3.003 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #6) alongside a new "48 Hours" (4.909 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4).

And finally on FOX (0.996 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4), encores of "Houdini & Doyle" (1.168 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) and "American Grit" (0.825 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #9) closed out the night.

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

· The May 7 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Brie Larson and musical guest Alicia Keys, averaged a 4.1 rating, 10 share in household results from the 56 markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.9/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· Excluding the April 23 tribute telecast to Prince, last night's "Saturday Night Live" scored the show's highest metered-market household rating since Feb. 13 (4.4 with host Melissa McCarthy and musical guest Kanye West) and equaled its highest 18-49 rating in the local people meters, again excluding the April 23 tribute to Prince, since that Feb. 13 edition (2.3).

· "Saturday Night Live" rose +11% versus the show's May 2015 average for originals in metered-market households (4.1 vs 3.7 for May 2015) and was up +6% versus the May 2015 average in 18-49 in the local people meters (1.9 vs. 1.8).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals growing by +50% going from L+SD to L+7 in adults 18-49 (1.87 to 2.80) and +2.171 million persons in total viewers (6.193 million to 8.364 million).


Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/9/15):

ABC (3.974 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) was the demo champ on Saturday thanks to its "NBA Countdown" (3.096 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) and coverage of "NBA Playoffs: Golden State at Memphis" (4.150 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1).

CBS (4.227 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) then claimed the silver with repeats of "Hawaii Five-0" (3.576 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #6) and "Criminal Minds" (3.658 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4) plus a new "48 Hours" (5.448 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3).

Next up was NBC (2.098 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) with encores of "The Voice" (1.951 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Saturday Night Live" (2.394 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4).

And finally, FOX (1.335 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) closed out the evening with second runs of "Hell's Kitchen" (1.002 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Bones" (1.668 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #7).

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

· "Saturday Night Live," with host Reese Witherspoon and musical guest Florence + the Machine (3.7 rating, 10 share in household results in Nielsen's 56 metered markets, 2.0/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with Local People Meters) matched the show's highest 18-49 rating in the Local People Meters since Jan. 31 (2.1/10 with host J.K. Simmons and musical guest D'Angelo and The Vanguard), equaling over that span the April 4 telecast (with host Michael Keaton and musical guest Carly Rae Jepsen, 2.0/9) and the March 7 edition (2.0/10 with host Chris Hemsworth and musical guest Zac Brown Band). In metered-market households, it's the top "SNL" since April 11 (3.8/10 with host Taraji P. Henson and musical guest Mumford & Sons).

· This week's "SNL" is the #1 non-sports 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 entertainment programs on those networks in both measures.

· Versus the same night last year, "Saturday Night Live" is virtually matching the year-ago telecast in metered-market households (3.7/10 vss. 3.8/10 on May 10, 2014) and is up +11% in 18-49 in the Local People Meters (2.0/9 vs. 1.8/8).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals this season growing by an average of +43% going from "live plus same day ratings" to "live plus seven day" in national adult 18-49 rating (from a 1.91 rating to a 2.74).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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