Primetime Preliminary Fast National Nielsen Data
(includes all DVR playback through 3:00 am)

Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (12/9/17):

CBS (3.543 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) pulled in front on Saturday with its holiday mix of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" (4.059 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T1), "Frosty the Snowman" (3.730 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T1), "Frosty Returns" (2.896 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) and "48 Hours" (3.258 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6).

ABC (3.098 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) then was the silver draw thanks to the feature "Mary Poppins" (3.098 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6).

Next up was NBC (2.759 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) and its lineup of "Will & Grace" (1.999 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8), "Superstore" (1.926 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8), "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.415 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) and a vintage "Saturday Night Live" (2.900 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3).

And finally, repeats of "The Gifted" (1.086 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #11) and "Lethal Weapon" (1.333 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #10) on FOX (1.209 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4) rounded out the night.

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

· "Saturday Night Live" has delivered the show's highest 18-49 rating in the local people meters since Oct. 14 and its best household rating in Nielsen's metered markets since Nov. 4.

· The Dec. 9 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by James Franco and featuring musical guest SZA, has averaged a 4.5 rating, 10 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 2.1/10 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· The 4.5 in households is the best for "Saturday Night Live" since Nov. 4 (4.7 with host Larry David and musical guest Miley Cyrus) and the 2.1 in 18-49 is the show's high in the local people meters since Oct. 14 (2.2 with host Kumail Nanjiani and musical guest P!nk).

· "Saturday Night Live" was the #1 telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in both metered-market households and 18-49 in the local people meters, ahead of all primetime programs on those networks in both categories.

· Among "SNL's" eighth original telecasts of each season, this is the highest-rated in nine years in metered-market households (since Nov. 15, 2008, 4.9 with host Paul Rudd and musical guest Beyonce).

· The Dec. 9 "SNL" aired live coast to coast (11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT) and was replayed at 11:30 in western markets. Note that these numbers under-report last night's "SNL" results because they don't include viewership from the show's 11:30 replays in the Western U.S.

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

Source: Nielsen Media Research