Saturday Night Live may be fifty, but it’s still high kicking just like Molly Shannon’s Sally O’Malley, with Sunday night’s anniversary special drawing the highest ratings of any primetime entertainment program to air on NBC in five years.
According to preliminary live plus same day figures just released by the network, the Sunday night primetime special was watched by 14.8 million viewers across both NBC and Peacock .
That number is likely to increase as delayed viewing numbers stream in over the coming days and weeks.
The network also reports that the anniversary special was the most-watched primetime entertainment simulcast on Peacock ever. (Only three broadcasts of The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade have drawn higher viewer numbers to the streamer.)
As we’ve reported, the legendary sketch show played all the hits last night, reviving characters and recurring sketches from across the show’s 50 seasons before an all-star crowd of former hosts and cast members.
It was the culmination of a weekend-long celebration that included several parties and two three-hour plus shows, beginning with Friday night’s homecoming concert at Radio City Music Hall.
Although 14.8 million total viewers is more than three times the number who tune into a regular episode of the show this season, it falls well short of the 23.1 million viewers who watched the show’s 40th anniversary special in 2015 (before streaming began significantly drawing viewers away from linear television).
Still, it’s the highest viewership NBC has seen for a entertainment primetime program since the network’s 2020 broadcast of The Golden Globe Awards, which drew 18.4 million viewers.
We’ll have more ratings information about the special and other anniversary-related programs in the coming days.
Get stories like this in your inbox: Sign up for LateNighter’s free daily newsletter.
Too bad it was mediocre.