First on LateNighter: Ariana Grande is one of the most talented performers of her generation, and is a powerhouse Saturday Night Live host as well.
TV audiences flocked to Grande’s SNL hosting gig in droves this past weekend. Nielsen ratings for the October 12, 2024 episode—which featured Grande as host for the second time and Stevie Nicks as musical guest—were massive. Not only were they up from the previous week’s episode, and the year-ago episode, but Grande’s SNL delivered the show’s largest live-plus-same-day audience overall since May 8, 2021 (hosted by Elon Musk with musical guest Miley Cyrus).
According to Nielsen Live-plus-same-day data, this past weekend’s SNL drew 5,572,000 total viewers to NBC for the broadcast. Week-over-week, that’s up 810,000 viewers (or +17%) from the previous week’s SNL, which was hosted by Nate Bargatze with musical guest Coldplay. It was also was up 721,000 viewers (or +15%) from the year-ago SNL episode (also hosted Bargatze with musical guest Foo Fighters.)
This weekend’s episode also scored exceptionally well in the 18-49 demo, averaging 1,265,000viewers. That’s up 287,000 viewers (or +29%) from the week prior, and up 232,000 viewers (or +22%) from the year-ago episode. In fact, the 1,265,000 P18-49 viewer count is SNL‘s largest live-plus-same-day delivery in the advertiser-coveted demo since Jan. 21, 2023 (hosted by Aubrey Plaza with musical guest Sam Smith).
Note that all of the numbers above (for this week and past episodes for comparison) are same-day-plus-live measurements. Average episode viewership will increase once delayed-viewing Nielsen data arrives in the coming days.
Grande’s performance as host was well-received by critics (including LateNighter’s Dennis Perkins). Among Grande’s top sketches of the night were as Celine Dion delivering a UFC-themed version of “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” and as the family matriarch taking on her son’s new boyfriend in an what turned out to be an uber-competitive game of charades. She also played a bridesmaid butchering a parody of Sabrina Carpenter’s hit, “Espresso.”
Saturday Night Live returns for the fourth of four new episodes in a row this weekend with host Michael Keaton , back for his own fourth time, alongside musical guest Billie Eilish.
