SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Rates #3 in This Week's Primetime, Best Since February

"Saturday Night Live" has outrated every primetime telecast on the broadcast networks so far this week in adults 18-49 except "The Big Bang Theory" and "Empire," scoring "SNL's" top results since February and second best since the November edition that immediately followed the Presidential election.

The April 15 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Jimmy Fallon and musical guest HARRY Styles, has averaged 7.880 million viewers overall and a 2.27 rating in adults 18-49 in "fast official" "live plus same day" results from Nielsen Media Research.

The telecast, the first "SNL" to air live coast to coast (11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT) and with 11:30encores in western markets, generated the show's top 18-49 and total-viewer results since the Feb. 11telecast hosted by Alec Baldwin and featuring musical guest Ed Sheeran (3.10 in 18-49, 10.843 million viewers overall).

They're also the show's second highest results since Nov. 12, 2016 with host Dave Chappelle and musical guest A Tribe Called Quest (3.15 in 18-49, 8.691 million viewer), the first 'SNL" to follow the November Presidential Election

The April 15 "Saturday Night Live" ranks as the #3 telecast so far this week on the broadcast networks in adult 18-49 rating, behind only "The Big Bang Theory" and "Empire."

Versus what "Saturday Night Live" averaged with originals for the month of April last year, last night's telecast is up +42% in adults 18-49 (with a 2.27 rating vs. a 1.60) and +2.3 million persons or +42% in total viewers (7.880 million vs. 5.561 million for the month of April 2016).

The 2.27 rating in adults 18-49 beats last season's final 11 "Saturday Night Live" originals, while the 7.880 million viewers overall outdelivers last season's final 12 first-runs.

Last night's "Saturday Night Live" was easily the #1 telecast of the night on the broadcast networks in both 18-49 and total viewers, topping every Saturday primetime telecast on those nets in both categories.

Online, Nielsen Social tracked 457,000 interactions from 195,000 unique users, making last night's "SNL" the most social comedy broadcast of the month to date (Source: Nielsen Social Content Ratings, Comedy Series Ranked by Total Interactions, 4/1/17 - 4/15/17, Linear Metrics)."

Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals so far this season growing by +60% in 18-49 and +3.432 million persons or +45% 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 2.21 rating in 18-49 and 7.568 million viewers overall, and in L+7, "SNL" grew to a 3.54 in 18-49 and 11.000 million viewers.

Versus the same point last season, "SNL" originals are up +22% in 18-49 (3.54 vs. 2.89) and +2.406 million persons or +28% in total viewers (11.000 million vs. 8.594 million).

The average 11.000 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 (11.236 million for that season's first 16 originals).

The 3.54 average in L+7 adults 18-49 rating average is the show's best performances in the demo at this point since 2008-09 (4.02 for that season's first 18 originals).

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