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 (12/17/16):

NBC (3.936 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1) was the top draw on a modest Saturday with encores of "A Pentatonix Christmas Special" (3.696 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) and "A Saturday Night Live Christmas Special" (4.056 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1).

The silver then went to FOX (2.694 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) and its coverage of "UFC on FOX" (2.694 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2).

Next up was ABC (3.502 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3) and its mix of "I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown" (2.844 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5), "20/20 Saturday" (3.352 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5) and a second "20/20 Saturday" (4.311 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3).

And finally, CBS (3.269 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3) opted for the feature "The Big Game" (3.329 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5) and a new "48 Hours" (3.148 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5).

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

· "Saturday Night Live" has scored the show's highest metered-market ratings since Nov. 12.

· The Dec. 17 telecast, with host Casey Affleck and musical guest Chance The Rapper, scored a 4.9 rating, 12 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 2.4/12 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

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

· Last night's "Saturday Night Live" is up +14% versus the show's December 2015 average for original telecasts in both metered-market households (4.9 vs. 4.3) and 18-49 in the local people meters (2.4 vs. 2.1 for December 2015).

· Both the 4.9 rating in households and the 2.4 in 18-49 beat results for the final 10 "Saturday Night Live" originals from last season.

· 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 +59% in 18-49 and +3.438 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 2.29 rating in 18-49 nationally and 7.655 million viewers overall, and in L+7, "SNL" has grown to a 3.65 in 18-49 and 11.093 million viewers.

· Versus the same point last season, "SNL" originals are up +34% in 18-49 nationally (3.65 vs. 2.73) and +2.701 million persons or +32% in total viewers (11.093 million vs. 8.392 million).

· The average 11.093 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 (12.097 million for that season's first eight originals).

· The 3.65 average in L+7 adults 18-49 rating nationally average is the show's best performances in the demo at this point since 2008 (4.40 for that season's first ten originals).

Here are the highlights of the six ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/19/15):

ABC (6.706 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T1) was the most-watched network on Saturday with its coverage of "New Hampshire: The Democrats Debate" (6.706 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2).

CBS (5.386 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T1) then shared in the demo crown with repeats of "NCIS" (5.153 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4), "Criminal Minds" (5.202 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2) and "48 Hours" (5.804 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #1).

Next up was FOX (2.379 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) and its presentation of "UFC Fight Night 17" (2.379 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4).

And finally, an encore of "The Wiz Live!" (1.586 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #6) on NBC (1.586 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) closed out the night.

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

· The Dec. 19 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with hosts Tina Fey & Amy Poehler and musical guest Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (5.1 rating, 13 share in households in the 56 markets metered by Nielsen Media Research, 2.6/12 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters) ranked as the #1 telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in 18-49 in the local people meters, outrating all primetime programs on those nets in that key measure.

· These are the second-highest "SNL" results this season, behind only the Nov. 7 telecast (with host Donald Trump and musical guest Sia, 6.6/16 in metered-market household, 2.7/13 in 18-49 in the local people meters).

· It's also the second-highest-rated "Saturday Night Live" in both measures in the past 22 months, best excluding the Nov. 7 Trump-hosted telecast since Feb. 1, 2014 (5.4/13 in metered-market households, 2.9/12 in 18-49 in the local people meters, with host Melissa McCarthy and musical guest Imagine Dragons, which was Seth Meyers' last telecast as a regular).

· The Dec. 19 "Saturday Night Live" is up +28% versus the show's average for original telecasts last season in metered-market households (5.1 vs. 4.0) and up +30% in 18-49 in the local people meters (2.6 vs. 2.0).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, growing nationally by +49% this season going from "live plus same day" ratings to "live plus seven day" ratings in 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