First on LateNighter: Saturday Night Live’s fiftieth season is proving to be a year of ratings highs and lows.
After a series of pre-election episodes that saw the show draw its highest ratings since 2020, the show’s post-election ratings slide continued this weekend.
Per Nielsen live-plus-same-day ratings data, Saturday’s Paul Mescal-hosted episode drew an average 3,839,000 viewers ages 2+, the show’s lowest number in that measurement since November 11th, 2023 (when Timothée Chalamet hosted with musical guest Boygenius.)
Ratings fell even further among viewers in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demo, where this weekend’s episode drew 739,000 viewers, a new low for the show going back until at least 1991 (which is as far back as numbers are available).
To be fair, it’s not unusual for SNL to see a seasonal decline in viewership in the mid-November to early December time frame. Historically the show has often reached a season-long nadir this time of year.
Also worth noting: As viewers continue to migrate to streaming platforms, the overall number of people tuning into terrestrial TV has seen steep declines in recent years. In other words, there’s a far smaller pool from which to draw viewers, especially those aged 18-49 (which makes the season’s earlier gains in this measure all the more remarkable).
A fairer historical measure might be the percentage share of those in the 18-49 demographic tuning in to SNL versus other programming on terrestrial TV. By that measure, this weekend’s episode, which ranked a 9.25% share in the demo, is only the lowest since this time last year, when Emma Stone hosted with musical guest Noah Kahan on December 2, 2023. (That episode drew 754,000 viewers in the demo, with a 7.95 share.)
Perhaps most crucially, none of the numbers above include delayed viewing or streams on Peacock (which are proprietary to NBC).
If historical trends hold, the next two weeks should see greater numbers of viewers tuning in. Chris Rock hosts this week with musical guest Gracie Abrams, while Martin Short and Hozier are set to headline this year’s Christmas episode on December 21st.
Complete season-to-date Nielsen ratings charts for SNL‘s 50th season follow below:
Live+SD Ratings – All Viewers (P2+)
| Date | Host / Music Guest | Avg Viewers (000’s) | Avg Share % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/28/24 | Jean Smart / Jelly Roll | 5,388 | 15.16 |
| 10/5/24 | Nate Bargatze / Coldplay | 4,763 | 13.34 |
| 10/12/24 | Ariana Grande / Stevie Nicks | 5,573 | 15.60 |
| 10/19/24 | Michael Keaton / Billie Eilish | 4,777 | 12,80 |
| 11/2/24 | John Mulaney / Chappell Roan | 6,587 | 18.35 |
| 11/9/24 | Bill Burr / Mk.gee | 4,424 | 13.09 |
| 11/16/24 | Charli XCX | 4,287 | 12.49 |
| 12/7/24 | Paul Mescal / Shaboozey | 3,839 | 10.80 |
Live+SD Ratings – In the Demo (P18-49)
| Date | Host / Music Guest | Avg Viewers (000s) | Avg Share % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/28/24 | Jean Smart / Jelly Roll | 1,126 | 13.72 |
| 10/5/24 | Nate Bargatze / Coldplay | 979 | 11.78 |
| 10/12/24* | Ariana Grande / Stevie Nicks | 1,266 | 15.72 |
| 10/19/24 | Michael Keaton / Billie Eilish | 946 | 11.17 |
| 11/2/24 | John Mulaney / Chappell Roan | 1,669 | 20.52 |
| 11/9/24 | Bill Burr / Mk.gee | 967 | 12.45 |
| 11/16/24 | Charli XCX | 863 | 11.32 |
| 12/7/24 | Paul Mesca l/ Shaboozey | 739 | 9.25 |
Ratings Data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
