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    Going Live Across Time Zones Yields Nielsen Boost For “SNL”

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1975 Views
    In this April 15, 2017 photo released by NBC, host Jimmy Fallon, center, performs during the live opening number on “Saturday Night Live,” in New York. (Will Heath/NBC via AP)

    By David Bauder, Television Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    NBC’s decision to air a live version of “Saturday Night Live” in every time zone has paid immediate dividends.

    The network’s telecast last weekend, with host Jimmy Fallon, musician Harry Styles and with Alec Baldwin and Melissa McCarthy delivering their hit impersonations of Donald Trump and Sean Spicer, was seen by 7.87 million people, or 21 percent more than the previous week’s telecast, the Nielsen company said.

    For the first time, NBC decided to air the show live from New York in the Mountain and Pacific time zones — then repeat it in the show’s customary 11:30 p.m. time slot. Nielsen did not immediately have exact numbers on how much this decision boosted viewership. But counting both airings, overnight ratings among young viewers in the two Western time zones more than doubled over the previous week’s telecast.

    Among the 18-to-49-year-old demographic last week, “Saturday Night Live” had more viewers than all prime-time shows except “The Big Bang Theory” and “Empire.”

    It has been a banner year for NBC’s comedy institution. When people who record the show and watch within a week are counted in, the typical “Saturday Night Live” edition is seen by 10.9 million people each week, Nielsen said. That doesn’t even count the way many people view late-night comedy these days, through clips spotted online.

    The television viewership is up 29 percent over last year and, NBC said, is the show’s best season since 1993-94.

    The show typically does well in election years. What makes this season different is the audience has remained strong after the election, fueled by Baldwin’s indelible Trump impersonation and McCarthy’s instant-classic take on the president’s press secretary.

    CBS won the week in primetime, averaging 6.6 million viewers. ABC had 4.5 million, NBC had 4.4 million, Fox had 2.5 million, Univision had 1.5 million, Telemundo had 1.2 million, ION Television had 1.1 million and the CW had 900,000.

    Fox News Channel was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 2.33 million in prime-time. Boosted by the NBC playoffs, TNT had 1.66 million viewers, HGTV had 1.47 million, MSNBC had 1.466 million and ESPN had 1.31 million.

    ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 7.61 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 7.56 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.2 million.

    Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for April 10-16. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.

    1. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 11.89 million.

    2. “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC, 10.31 million.

    2. “Stayin’ Alive: Grammy Salute to the Bee Gees,” CBS, 10.31 million.

    4. “The Voice” (Monday, 8 p.m.), NBC, 9.88 million.

    5. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 9.43 million.

    6. “NCIS,” CBS, 9.06 million.

    7. “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS, 8.49 million.

    8. “Survivor,” CBS, 8.32 million.

    9. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.16 million.

    10. “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 7.76 million.

    11. “Bull,” CBS, 7.42 million.

    12. “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC, 7.19 million.

    13. “Mom,” CBS, 6.84 million.

    14. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 6.61 million.

    15. “Empire,” Fox, 6.59 million.

    16. “MacGyver,” CBS, 6.57 million.

    17. “Scorpion,” CBS, 6.41 million.

    18. “Chicago Med,” NBC, 6.36 million.

    19. “The Great Indoors,” CBS, 6.11 million.

    20. “Kevin Can Wait,” CBS, 6.05 million.

    Category:News
    Tags:NielsenSaturday Night LiveThe Big Bang Theory



    Review: Director Ben Taylor’s “Joy”

    Thursday, November 21, 2024

    Toward the end of Netflix's "Joy," the muffled cry of a newborn baby prompts a man and woman in a hospital to embrace out of pure bliss. They aren't the parents, but they had as much to do with the birth as the mom and dad.

    This charming and winning movie charts the decade-long true story of how the world's first IVF baby was born in England in 1978 — a 5-pound, 12-ounce girl who paved the way for millions more. It's an upbeat, very English affair, mixing sober discussion of endometriosis with chocolate biscuits.

    The couple embracing that day were pioneering scientist Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy, a young nurse and embryologist. Together with surgeon Patrick Steptoe, the trio succeeded with in vitro fertilization, a method of treating infertility. Edwards would go on to win the Nobel Prize.

    "Joy" has been birthed at a time when science is under threat in America — even IVF — so it's downright inspiring to see plucky, smart scientists working hard to change the world. "What we're doing, it matters," says Steptoe, played with quiet economy by Bill Nighy.

    "Joy" is the personal stories of the three scientists — mostly through the eyes of Purdy, a polite lab-coated warrior. "If I hear a commotion, I'm not very good at staying out of it," she says. Perfectly played by Thomasin McKenzie, Purdy is both vulnerable and strong, learning through the process to be a better human. James Norton plays Edwards with charm, self-doubt and calm spirit.

    Jack Thorne's script nicely explains the massive pressure the trio faced. IVF may have become common and uncontroversial over the last decades, but back in the late '70s it was experimental and shunned. The Anglican church called it a sin, the newspapers labeled it Frankenstein-ish and other... Read More

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