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[12/11/16 - 08:37 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Tops Charts with Holiday Repeats
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 eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (12/10/16):

CBS (4.678 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) took home top honors on Satudray with its holiday mix of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (4.978 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #2), "Frosty the Snowman" (5.023 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1), "Frosty Returns" (4.058 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) and "48 Hours" (4.515 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4).

ABC (3.882 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2) then was the silver draw with its feature "Mary Poppins" (3.882 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5).

Next up was NBC (2.419 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) and encores of "The Voice" (2.160 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) and "SNL Vintage" (2.938 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #6).

And finally, "MLS Soccer" (1.284 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) on FOX (1.284 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) closed out the night.

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

· "Saturday Night Live" has delivered its highest metered-market ratings since Nov. 12.

· The Dec. 10 telecast, with host John Cena and musical guest Maren Morris, scored a 4.8 rating, 12 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 2.3/11 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· These are the top "Saturday Night Live" local-market ratings since the Nov. 12 edition, which was the first "SNL" to follow the Presidential election. Featuring host Dave Chappelle and musical guest A Tribe Called Quest, the Nov. 12 telecast averaged a 6.2 household rating and a 3.9 in 18-49 in the local people meters.

· Last night's 4.8 rating in metered-market households is up +26% versus "Saturday Night Live's" result on the same night last year (4.8 vs. 3.8 on Dec. 12, 2015) and the 2.3 in 18-49 in the LPMs is up +28% (2.3 vs. 1.8).

· The 4.8 rating in households tops the final 10 "Saturday Night Live" originals from last season, and the 2.3 in 18-49 beats last season's final nine originals.

· Last night's "Saturday Night Live" was the #1 telecast of the night on the broadcast networks, outrating every Saturday primetime telecast on those nets.

· National ratings, including viewer totals, for last night's "Saturday Night Live" are due from Nielsen on Tuesday.

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals so far this season growing by +60% in 18-49 and +3.527 million persons or +45% in total viewers nationally going from "live plus same day" Nielsens to "live plus seven day" figures. In L+SD, "SNL" this season has averaged a 2.34 rating in 18-49 nationally and 7.837 million viewers overall, and in L+7, "SNL" has grown to a 3.74 in 18-49 and 11.364 million viewers.

· Versus the same point last season, "SNL" originals are up +35% in 18-49 nationally (3.74 vs. 2.78) and +2.788 million persons or +33% in total viewers (11.364 million vs. 8.576 million).

· The average 11.364 million viewers in L+7 makes this the show's most-watched season at this point in 24 years (versus prior seasons' original telecasts through comparable dates), best since 1992 (11.949 million for that season's first seven originals).

· The 3.74 average in L+7 adults 18-49 rating nationally average is the show's best performances in the demo at this point since 2008 (4.51 for that season's first nine originals).


Here are the highlights of the eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/12/15):

ABC (4.653 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T1) was the most-watched network on Saturday with its encore of "Mary Poppins" (4.653 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2).

CBS (3.973 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T1) then shared in the demo honors with repeats of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (4.596 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #1), "The Flight Before Christmas" (3.289 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) and a new "48 Hours" (4.034 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4).

Next up was NBC (1.843 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with a repeat "Caught on Camera" (1.797 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and its coverage of "Premier Boxing Champions" (1.853 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5).

And finally, second runs of "Gotham" (0.963 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.2, #8) and "Rosewood" (1.303 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) on FOX (1.133 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4) closed out the night.

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

· The Dec. 12 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Chris Hemsworth and musical guest Chance The Rapper, averaged a 3.8 rating, 10 share in households in 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, making it the #1 telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in both measures, topping all primetime programs on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in households and 18-49.

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, growing by +49% this season going from "live plus same day" ratings to "live plus seven day" in national adult 18-49 results (from a 1.87 rating to a 2.78), and by +2.2 million viewers overall (6.4 million to 8.6 million).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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