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[10/23/16 - 10:03 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC, College Football Top Viewers, Demos
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 (10/22/16):

ABC (6.165 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) continued its reign on Saturday with "Saturday Night College Football" (6.165 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1).

CBS (3.643 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) then was the silver draw with its mix of "MacGyver" (3.324 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2), "NCIS" (3.661 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #6) and "48 Hours" (3.945 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

Next up was FOX (2.412 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) with its own "CFB on FOX" (2.412 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) coverage.

And finally, repeats of "Superstore" (1.568 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #7) and the feature "Identity Theft" (2.387 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) on NBC (2.251 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 Oct. 22 edition of "Saturday Night Live" has delivered season-high ratings in both metered-market households and adults 18-49 in the local people meters, scoring its best results for any October telecast in eight years.

· Last night's "Saturday Night Live," with host Tom Hanks and musical guest Lady Gaga, generated a 6.1 rating, 15 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 3.0/14 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· These are the show's highest ratings so far this season, topping the previous highs set with the season premiere on Oct. 1 (5.8/15 in metered-market households, 2.7/14 in 18-49 in the local people meters).

· For an October edition, they're the highest "Saturday Night Live" overnights since Oct. 25, 2008 (7.1/16 in metered-market households, 4.0 rating in 18-49 in the local people meters with host Jon Hamm and musical guest Coldplay).

· Last night's telecast is up +45% versus the show's October 2015 average for originals in metered-market households (6.1 vs. 4.2) and up +50% in 18-49 in the local people meters (3.0 vs. 2.0 for October 2015).

· Counting all "Saturday Night Live" telecasts, it's the top-rated in metered-market households since Nov. 7, 2015 and highest in 18-49 in the local people meters since Dec. 21, 2013.


Here are the highlights of the seven ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (10/24/15):

ABC (5.400 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) claimed the top honors on Saturday with its weekly "Saturday Night College Football" (5.400 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) coverage.

FOX (2.394 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) and NBC (4.333 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) then split the silver as the former served up its "CFB on FOX" (2.394 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3) with the latter its duo of "Dateline NBC" (4.989 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3) and "Saturday Night Live" (3.023 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T5).

And finally, repeats of "NCIS: Los Angeles" (4.380 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T5) and "Criminal Minds" (3.232 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #7) plus a new "48 Hours" (5.546 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) on CBS (4.386 million viewers, #2; 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 and musical guest Miley Cyrus (3.1/8 in metered-market households, 1.2/6 in adults 18-49 in the local people meters) delivered the best rating for an "SNL" rebroadcast since February in metered-market households.

· The 3.1 was the highest household rating for an encore "Saturday Night Live" since Feb. 21 (3.1/8 with host and musical guest Blake Shelton) and equaled the high since Feb. 14 (3.8/10 with host George Carlin and musical guests Janis Ian and Billy Preston).

· In 18-49 in the local people meters, "Saturday Night Live" earned the show's top rating for a rebroadcast since May 30 (1.3/6 with host Cameron Diaz and musical guests Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars.

· Versus last season's first "SNL" encore, last night's rebroadcast grew by +15% in metered-market households (3.1 vs. 2.7) and +9% in 18-49 in the local people meters (1.2 vs. 1.1).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with this year's season premiere growing by +44% going from "live plus same day ratings" to "live plus seven day" rating in adults 18-49 (from a 1.82 rating to a 2.62).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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