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    Elon Musk moves ratings as “SNL” host; Nielsen week in review

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1222 Views
    This image released by NBC shows host Elon Musk delivering his opening monologue on "Saturday Night Live" in New York on May 8, 2021. (Will Heath/NBC via AP)

    By Lynn Elber, Television Writer

    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    Elon Musk moved a cryptocurrency's value and TV ratings with his "Saturday Night Live" appearance.

    Last weekend's show averaged 7.3 million viewers, making it the third most-watched episode for the season behind the ones hosted by Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock, according to Nielsen figures.

    A good outcome for the billionaire's first time hosting "SNL," although reviews of his attempts at comedy ranged from charitable to meh. 

    The biggest pan, however, may be the response to jokes mocking the cryptocurrency dogecoin, for which Musk actually has been a steadfast booster: In the hour after the show started, dogecoin's already volatile price fell 23% and bounced up and down the following day.

    "Saturday Night Live" included an opening exchange between Musk and his mother, who grimaced when he said that dogecoin would be her Mother's Day gift, and an "Update" bit in which Musk appeared as a faux financial analyst, Lloyd Ostertag.

    Anchor Michael Che reacts to Ostertag's convoluted description of dogecoin as the future of currency with deep skepticism, calling it a "hustle." Musk in character echoes the sentiment: "Yeah, it's a hustle."

    In primetime last week, CBS was the most-watched network with an average 4.8 million viewers. NBC had 3.2 million, ABC had 3 million, Fox had 2.3 million, Univision had 1.3 million and Telemundo had 960,000.

    Fox News Channel topped the cable networks, averaging 2.1 million viewers in primetime. MSNBC had 1.5 million, HGTV had 1.2 million and CNN had 907,000.

    ABC's "World News Tonight" was first in the evening news ratings contest, averaging 7.95 million viewers. NBC's "Nightly News" had 6.46 million and the "CBS Evening News" had 4.86 million.

    For the week of May 3-9, the top 20 programs, their networks and viewerships:

    1. "NCIS," CBS, 8.68 million.
    2. "FBI," CBS, 8.06 million.
    3. "60 Minutes," CBS, 7.78 million.
    4. "The Equalizer," CBS, 7.224 million.
    5. "Chicago Fire," NBC, 7.221 million.
    6. "Chicago Med," NBC, 7.09 million.
    7. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 6.64 million.
    8. "911," Fox, 5.91 million.
    9. "Blue Bloods," CBS, 5.87 million.
    10. "American Idol," ABC, 5.74 million.
    11. "Chicago P.D.," NBC. 5.69 million.
    12. "The Voice," NBC, 5.64 million.
    13. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 5.60 million.
    14. "Bull," CBS, 5.53 million.
    15. "FBI: Most Wanted," CBS, 4.89 million.
    16. "Mom," CBS, 5.29 million.
    17. "The Neighborhood," CBS, 5.19 million.
    18. "911: Lone Star," Fox, 5.11 million.
    19. "Magnum, P.I.," CBS, 5 million.
    20. "NCIS: new Orleans," CBS, 4.96 million.

    Tags:Elon MuskNielsenSaturday Night Live



    What will happen to CNBC and MSNBC when they no longer have a corporate connection to NBC News?

    Thursday, November 21, 2024
    MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow, left, Lawrence O'Donnell, center, and Chris Matthews take part in a panel discussion at the NBC Universal summer press tour, Aug. 2, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

    Comcast's corporate reorganization means that there will soon be two television networks with "NBC" in their name — CNBC and MSNBC — that will no longer have any corporate connection to NBC News. How that affects viewers of those networks, along with the people who work there, still needs to shake out. Their new corporate leader, Mark Lazarus, visited the set of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" as the plan was being announced on Wednesday and spoke to network staff members during a morning conference call to address concerns. Comcast is spinning off most of its cable networks, also including USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and the Golf Channel, into a separate company. That recognizes how streaming is considered the future and the cable networks are a drag on the bottom line. In the space of a lifetime, the networks went from upstarts aside a legacy operation like NBC to profitable superstars to castoffs. Questions range from the simple to complex Lazarus, chairman of the NBC Universal Media Group, is becoming CEO of the newly-formed company of cable networks, temporarily dubbed "SpinCo." Cesar Conde, who as NBC Universal News Group chairman had oversight of CNBC and MSNBC, will lose those networks from his portfolio, yet remain in charge of NBC News, NBC News Now streaming, Telemundo and the news operations of the NBC-owned local stations. The presence of Lazarus and Anand Kini, who will be chief operating officer and chief financial officer of SpinCo, is a good sign for the new company, said Jessica Reif Ehrlich, research analyst for the Bank of America. "You can't dismiss it as getting rid of the crappy assets, because these are talented executives," she said. At MSNBC, questions about the future range from the simple — will it even keep its... Read More

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