What goes up must come down. That was the case this weekend, as Nate Bargatze returned for his second time at bat as SNL host.
Nielsen ratings for the October 5, 2024 episode of Saturday Night Live—which featured Bargatze as host and Coldplay as musical guest—were down from the Season 50 premiere a week ago. No huge surprise there, as last week’s season opener garnered the show’s highest ratings since 2020. However, ratings were also down from the last time Bargatze hosted the show, Oct. 28, 2023.
According to Nielsen Live-plus-same-day ratings data, this past weekend’s SNL drew 4,762,000 total viewers to NBC for the live broadcast. Week-over-week, that’s down 626,000 viewers (or -12%) from the show’s Season 50 premiere, which was hosted by Jean Smart with musical guest Jelly Roll. It was also was down 89,000 viewers (or -2%) from Bargatze’s Oct. 28, 2023 SNL episode. (The musical guest that episode was Foo Fighters.)
Among advertiser-coveted viewers aged 18-49, this weekend’s episode averaged 978,000 P18-49 viewers. That’s down 148,000 viewers (or -13%) from last week, and down 55,000 viewers (or -5%) from the last time Bargatze hosted.
Not all of the Nielsen ratings news was bad, however. This week’s episode was up by 721,000 viewers (or +18%) from the year-ago episode (hosted by Bad Bunny on Oct. 21, 2023), while staying flat in the P18-49 demo. The episode also drew larger live-plus-same-day audience than most of Season 49’s episodes.
Note that all of the ratings numbers above (for this week and past episodes for comparison) are same-day-plus-live measurements.
The final rating for any given episode will typically grow substantially as delayed linear viewing numbers come in over the coming days and weeks. (For example: per Nielsen, last year’s Ryan Gosling-hosted episode initially drew 4.7 million total live-plus-same-day viewers, but that grew to 7.5 million total viewers when live-plus-seven-day data was reported more than a week later.)
Bargatze’s second hosting stint was almost universally well-received by critics (including LateNighter’s own Dennis Perkins), with those tuning treated to a number of buzzed-about sketches, including a sequel to last year’s breakout”Washington’s Dream,” the show’s first new SNL Digital Short in six years (“Sushi Glory Hole”), and a Vice Presidential Debate-themed cold open featuring new cameos from Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Jim Gaffigan and Dana Carvey.
Saturday Night Live returns for the third of four new episodes in a row this weekend with host Ariana Grande and musical guest Stevie Nicks.
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this is the dumbest article I’ve ever read. “Nate Bargatze sheds viewers”… but only 2%…. and it’ll probably increase over the coming days…. thanks for wasting 3 minutes of my life.
I agree about this article. My fault for clicking. This isn’t interesting at all!
and the author if the article didn’t get through 4th grade… received… not recieved….
of 😆
You are really stupid if you think this show’s ratings are going to continue to go up throughout the season!
blame coldplay
The only parts of SNL that are funny are the cold open and Weekend Update. It’s time to pull the plug on this dud of a show.
Or at least kill Lorne Michaels!
we enjoyed Nate Bargatze‘s humor on SNL. The golf skit was truly funny. we appreciate it his lack of sexual innuendo about everything.
Nate brings a clean, self deprecating humor to SNL. His are the only skits I will watch…and not once but over again. This headline reads like a hitpiece on one of the best things to happen to SNL in years. The Washington skit has better writing and funnier comedic timing than I have seen in forever. Nate is so understated but somehow plays off SNL talent so much better than a lot of other hosts. I would watch SNL more if it relied on actual humor instead of potty jokes and vulgarity…which is NOT funny.
AGREE!
Nate was outstanding in every skit in which he participated! Screw Nielsen ratings! I would love to see Nate again & again! He had a unique & spot-on delivery for characters he enacted.
Bravo, Nate ~
Azure Montaig 🎶 (A singer/actor for 40 years in live thea
Only people like you would think this Nate guy is funnier than anybody from In Living Color!
You have a lot of confidence if you think senile Lorne can continue to hit homeruns every episode!
I wonder what the ratings would be if A.J. Katz hosted… hmm…
it was the best snl episode that has been aired in a long long time
Not even close.
Nate Bargatze is a very funny comedian, and a great host. It’s not him…it’s them. some are good, some are not.
I would say about as funny as the TV show 24.
Why are you on here if you are such an SNL hater?
Please troll somewhere else.
The reason ratings were down is because the season opener was a complete dud. I didn’t watch the second because of the first. It had nothing to do with the first host.