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

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (3/10/18):

NBC (2.914 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) and ABC (2.008 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) shared the demo crown on a low key Saturday with the latter serving up its weekly "NBA Countdown" (1.798 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and "NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC" (2.050 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3).

The Peacock then offered up its mix of "Will & Grace" (2.250 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6), "Superstore" (2.291 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4), "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.542 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1) and a vintage "Saturday Night Live" (2.931 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1).

Next up was CBS (3.284 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and its trio of "NCIS" (2.581 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6), "NCIS: New Orleans" (3.304 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and a new "48 Hours" (3.968 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4).

And finally, FOX (1.520 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) rounded out the night with the primetime portion of "Big East Basketball Tournament: Championship Game" (1.520 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6).

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

· The March 10 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Sterling K. Brown and featuring musical guest James Bay, has averaged a 4.1 rating, 10 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.7/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· "Saturday Night Live" is the #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in both metered-market households and 18-49 in the local people meters, topping in both measures all primetime programs on those nets, including ABC's Spurs-Thunder NBA coverage.

· "Saturday Night Live" outrated the night's #2 Big 4 program in metered-market households by a +52% margin (4.1 vs. 2.7 for CBS's "48 Hours") and beat the #2 show in 18-49 in the local people meters by +143% (1.7 vs. 0.7 for three different primetime programs).

· The March 10 "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.

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/11/17):

ABC (2.144 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1) was the demo champ on Saturday with its coverage of "NBA Countdown" (1.899 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and "NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC" (2.193 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1).

CBS (3.503 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) then topped the viewership chart with its mix of "Ransom" (2.506 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (3.534 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4) and "48 Hours" (4.470 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1).

Next up was NBC (2.519 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) with encores of "The Voice" (3.009 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4), "Taken" (2.103 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and "SNL Vintage" (2.446 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3).

And finally, repeats of "24: Legacy" (0.717 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T9) and "APB" (0.788 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T9) closed out the night on FOX (0.752 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4).

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

· The March 11 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Scarlett Johansson and featuring musical guest Lorde, scored a 4.8 rating, 13 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 2.2/12 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· Versus what "Saturday Night Live" averaged with originals for the month of March last year, the March 11 telecast is up +20% in meter-market households (4.8 vs. 4.0) and up +16% in 18-49 in the local people meters (2.2 vs. 1.9 for the month of March 2016).

· The 4.8 rating in households beats results for the final 10 "Saturday Night Live" originals from last season, while the 2.2 in 18-49 in the local people meters tops last season's final nine first-runs.

· The March 11 "Saturday Night Live" was the #1 telecast of the night on the broadcast networks in both metered-market households and in 18-49 in the local people meters, outrating every Saturday primetime telecast on those nets in both categories.

Source: Nielsen Media Research