SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Receives Highest Ratings Since November

In Late-Night Metered-Market Ratings for Saturday Night:

· "Saturday Night Live" has matched the show's highest adult 18-49 rating in Nielsen's local people meters since Nov. 12.

· The Feb. 4 telecast, with host Kristen Stewart and musical guest Alessia Cara, and featuring an appearance by Melissa McCarthy as White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, scored a 5.0 rating, 13 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 2.5/13 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· The 2.5 in 18-49 equals the strongest "Saturday Night Live" local-market rating since the Nov. 12 telecast, which was the first "SNL" to follow the Presidential election.

· The 5.0 in metered-market households makes this the second highest rated "SNL" by that measure since Nov. 12, trailing over that span only the Jan. 21 edition hosted by Aziz Ansari with musical guest Big Sean (5.1). That Jan. 21 episode is also the only other "SNL" since Nov. 12 to generate a 2.5 in 18-49 in the local people meters.

· The Nov. 12 telecast, featuring host Dave Chappelle and musical guest A Tribe Called Quest, averaged a 6.2 household rating and a 3.9 in 18-49 in the local people meters.

· Versus what "Saturday Night Live" averaged with originals for the month of February last year, last night's 5.0 rating in meter-market households is up +4% (5.0 vs. 4.8) and the 2.5 in 18-49 in the local people meters is up +9% (2.5 vs. 2.3 for the month of February 2016).

· The 5.0 rating in households beats results for the final 10 "Saturday Night Live" originals from last season, while the 2.5 in 18-49 in the local people meters tops last season's final 11 first-runs.

· Last night's "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.

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals so far this season growing by +58% in 18-49 and +3.214 million persons or +44% 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 2.19 rating in 18-49 nationally and 7.386 million viewers overall, and in L+7, "SNL" grew to a 3.46 in 18-49 and 10.600 million viewers.

· Versus the same point last season, "SNL" originals are up +19% in 18-49 nationally (3.46 vs. 2.92) and +1.907 million persons or +22% in total viewers (10.600 million vs. 8.693 million).

· The average 10.600 million viewers in L+7 makes this the show's most-watched season at this point in 22 years (versus prior seasons' original telecasts through comparable dates), best since 94-95 (10.620 million for that season's first 11 originals).

· The 3.46 average in L+7 adults 18-49 rating nationally average is the show's best performances in the demo at this point since 2008 (4.26 for that season's first 13 originals).

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

Saturday Primetime Ratings:

In primetime, NBC ranked #2 among the Big 4 networks in total viewers, tied for #1 in adults 25-54 and ranked #1 outright among those nets in women 25-54 and women 18-49.

"Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (0.7/3 in 18-49, 1.0 in 25-54, 4.1 million viewers overall from 8-10 p.m. ET):

· Equals the show's highest 18-49 rating since April 9, 2016 (0.8).

· Wins the slot among the Big 4 networks in total viewers.

· Grows by +60% from its first half-hour to its fourth in adults 18-49 (from a 0.5 rating to a 0.8), by +50% in adults 25-54 (0.8 to 1.2) and by +38% or more than +1.3 million persons in total viewers (3.4 million to 4.8 million).

"SNL Vintage" (0.7/3 in 18-49, 2.9 million viewers overall from 10-11 p.m. ET, with an encore of the Feb. 6, 2013 telecast of "Saturday Night Live" with host Christoph Waltz and musical guest Alabama Shakes):

· Ranks #2 in the slot among ABC, CBS and NBC in adults 18-49 and tied for #1 among those nets in adults 25-54, women 18-34 and women 18-49.

NOTE: All ratings are "live plus same day" from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise indicated.

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