or


[05/14/17 - 10:25 AM]
"Saturday Night Live" Delivers Its Most-Watched May Telecast in Seven Years
NBC spins the numbers for Saturday, May 13.

[via press release from NBC]

"SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" DELIVERS ITS MOST-WATCHED MAY TELECAST IN SEVEN YEARS

With Host Melissa McCarthy & Musical Guest Haim, "SNL" Ties the Highest 18-49 Rating for Any Entertainment Program On The Broadcast Nets in the Last Seven Weeks

It's the #2 "SNL" of the Season in Total Viewers and #3 in 18-49

NEW YORK - May 14, 2017 - "Saturday Night Live" has equaled the highest-rated primetime entertainment show on the broadcast networks in the last seven weeks in adults 18-49 and delivered the most-watched "SNL" May telecast in the last seven years.

The May 13 edition of "Saturday Night Live," with host Melissa McCarthy and musical guest Haim, averaged 10.337 million viewers overall and a 2.74 rating in adults 18-49 in "fast official" "live plus same day" results from Nielsen Media Research.

The telecast, which aired live coast to coast (11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT) and counted unduplicated viewers from 11:30 encores in western markets, generated the show's biggest overall audience for a May edition since May 8, 2010, (with host Betty White and musical guest Jay Z, 12.052 million). In 18-49, it's a high for a May "SNL" in six years, since the May 21, 2011 season finale (3.68 with host Justin Timberlake and musical guest Lady Gaga).

With its 2.74 rating in adults 18-49, the May 13 "Saturday Night Live" ties as the #1 telecast so far this week on the broadcast networks in adult 18-49 rating, matching CBS' "The Big Bang Theory" (2.74 on Thursday night).

Among all broadcast primetime entertainment programs, last night's 2.74 rating for "Saturday Night Live" ties the highest in the seven weeks since the March 22 telecast of Fox's "Empire" (2.82).

It's the #2 "Saturday Night Live" of the season in total viewers, behind only the Feb. 11 edition (10.843 million viewers with host Alec Baldwin and musical guest Ed Sheeran) and the #3 "SNL" of the season in 18-49, behind only the Feb. 11 telecast (3.10) and the Nov. 12 episode, the first to follow the fall election (3.10 with host Dave Chappelle and musical guest A Tribe Called Quest).

Versus what "Saturday Night Live" averaged with originals for the month of May last year, this week's telecast is up +71% in adults 18-49 (with a 2.74 rating vs. a 1.60) and +5.1 million persons or +98% in total viewers (10.337 million vs. 5.233 million for the month of May 2016).

The 2.74 rating in adults 18-49 beats 18 of last season's 19 "Saturday Night Live" originals and the 10.337 million viewers overall tops all 19 first-runs from last season.

Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with the 18 originals so far this season growing by +61% in 18-49 and +3.425 million persons or +46% in total viewers going from "live plus same day" Nielsens to "live plus seven day" figures. In L+SD, "SNL" this season has averaged a 2.18 rating in 18-49 and 7.527 million viewers overall, and in L+7, "SNL" has grown to a 3.51 in 18-49 and 10.952 million viewers.

Versus the same point last season, "SNL" originals are up +25% in 18-49 (3.51 vs. 2.80) and +2.588 million persons or +31% in total viewers (10.952 million vs. 8.364 million).

The average 10.952 million viewers in L+7 makes this the show's most-watched season at this point in 23 years (versus prior seasons' original telecasts through comparable dates), best since 1993-94 (11.213 million for that season's first 19 originals).

The 3.51 average in L+7 adults 18-49 rating average is the show's best performances in the demo at this point since 2008-09 (3.93 for that season's first 20 originals).





  [may 2017]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (NBC)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[06/27/25 - 02:29 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Gears Up for Summer Rising Week to Week in All Key Measures
Wednesday, June 11, was the most-viewed day of the week among Total Viewers (2.164 million).

[06/27/25 - 10:31 AM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Tops Late-Night in Adults 18-49 for Third Week in a Row
Winning three of five nights in Kimmel's final week before summer guest hosts, Thursday, June 19, was the show's strongest night among Adults 18-49 (0.35 rating).

[06/25/25 - 11:55 AM]
Prime Video Finishes Groundbreaking First Season of Exclusive NASCAR Coverage
According to Nielsen, NASCAR on Prime posted a season average of 2.16 million viewers (AMA P2+) across five events, and attracted droves of younger viewers to its live coverage.

[06/25/25 - 07:58 AM]
ABC News Primetime Special "Karen Read: The Verdict - A Special Edition of 20/20" Ranks #1 Across All of Broadcast and Cable in Adults 18-49
Plus: "Karen Read: The Verdict" placed No. 1 based on views among all titles on Hulu on Thursday (6/19), Friday (6/20) and Saturday (6/21).

[06/24/25 - 03:03 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Target Demos 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" for 2nd Consecutive Week, and Claims Top Spot in Total Viewers for the 5th Straight Week
On Monday (6/16/25), "Nightline" scored its most-watched telecast (1.112 million) in 5 months.

[06/24/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of June 16: "Tyler Perry's Straw" Leads Top 10 for Third Week, "The Waterfront" Swims to No. 1
Plus: "Ginny & Georgia" Season 3 racked up another 8.1 million views and felt peachy keen at No. 2, while Season 2 landed at No. 8 and Season 1 at No. 10, with an additional 2.7 million views each.

[06/24/25 - 08:42 AM]
Third Most-Watched WNBA Game Ever on ESPN: Indiana Fever vs Las Vegas Aces Averaged 1.7 Million Viewers, Up 52% from Last Year's ESPN Average
Said coverage peaked at 2.2 million viewers.

[06/23/25 - 12:09 PM]
Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 7 on ABC and ESPN+ Is Most-Watched NBA Finals Game in Six Years
The seven-game series averaged 10,266,000 viewers and delivered the seven most-watched broadcasts on all of television since the first week of May.

[06/18/25 - 09:01 AM]
Murder Mystery May Drives Acorn TV to the Most Successful Month In Its History
Total hours watched surpassed 20 million for the first time in Acorn TV history, with unique engaged subscribers also achieving an all-time high, up double digits from the streamer's average over the past 12 months.

[06/17/25 - 03:03 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers"
On Wednesday, "Nightline" scored its most-watched telecast (1.049 million) in 5 months and strongest delivery in Adults 25-54 (404,000) in 1 year.

[06/17/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of June 9: "Tyler Perry's Straw" Has Biggest Week for a Film in 2025
"Ginny & Georgia's" third season maintained its No. 1 spot on the English TV List with 16.9 million views, as fans saw their favorite characters pushed "to the limit."

[06/17/25 - 07:27 AM]
ESPN Delivered Third Most-Watched WNBA Game Ever on ABC: New York Liberty Vs Indiana Fever Averaged 2.2 Million Viewers, Up 76% from Last Year's ABC Average
Said coverage peaked at 2.8 million viewers.

[06/10/25 - 04:46 PM]
Premiere Episode of NBC's New Unscripted Series "Destination X" Is Now Up to 4.2 Million Viewers Across All Platforms
To date, the series has reached more than 9 million viewers across all platforms.

[06/10/25 - 02:18 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" for the 3rd Consecutive Week
On Thursday, "Nightline" scored its strongest telecast in Adults 25-54 (259,000) in nearly 3 months and best Adults 18-49 delivery (202,000) in 5 months.

[06/10/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of June 2: "Straw" Moves Viewers, "Ginny & Georgia" Has Peachy Season 3 Premiere in Top 10
Plus: UK crime thriller "Dept. Q" cracked the code and climbed to No. 2 in its second week (8.9 million views).