SNL 50 Delivered 3-Year Audience High, Broadcast's Top-Rated Series
Saturday Night Live knows how to mark a milestone.
Season 50 of NBC's iconic sketch comedy program averaged 8.1 million weekly viewers (across all platforms and with Live+7 playback). That's a 12% increase vs. Season 49 and marks the program's most-watched run since Season 47.
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In the coveted-and-delicious 18-49 demo, SNL 50 averaged a 1.7 rating, which is plenty good enough to lay claim to the 'No. 1 broadcast entertainment series' title for the 2024-25 TV season. (It easily bests ABC's Dancing With the Stars and CBS' Survivor, which led primetime entertainment fare this season with 0.9 ratings.)
SNL also stands also the No. 1-rated comedy series across both broadcast and cable for a sixth consecutive season.
'To see the show honor its legacy while still pushing boundaries was incredible,' says Katie Hockmeyer, EVP of Late Night for NBCUniversal Entertainment. 'The strong ratings this season are a testament to how deeply SNL continues to resonate with audiences. After five decades, SNL remains a powerful force in shaping culture and making us laugh week after week.'
The most-watched Season 50 episode on social media (with 712 million views), NBC notes, was the Oct. 12 telecast hosted by Ariana Grande with musical guest Stevie Nicks. The most-viewed sketch on social media (171 million views) in turn was 'Domingo: Bridesmaid Speech' from that same episode.
Beyond SNL Season 50's weekly outings, SNL50: The Anniversary Special averaged 22.8 million total viewers across all platforms (in Live+35), while SNL50: The Homecoming Concert stands as Peacock's 'No. 1 highest-reaching original special of all time.'
SNL50: The Anniversary Special will re-air this Sunday, June 8 from 7:30-11 pm ET.
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