NBC's Hayes-hosted 'SNL' peaks in ratings
Sketch skein hits top sans XFL, Disney's 'Recess' tops kid race
Hosted by "Will & Grace's" Sean Hayes, "SNL" averaged a 5.3 rating/20 share in adults 18-49 and a 5.3/19 in adults 25-54 with an average of 10.2 million viewers overall. Compared to the same night last year, when Ben Affleck hosted, "SNL" was up 33% in adults 18-49, 36% in adults 25-54 and 35% in total viewers.
Meanwhile, boosted by the promotion surrounding the theatrical release of "Recess: School's Out," Disney's One Saturday Morning on ABC posted its best kids 2-11 delivery of the season, besting the broadcast competish in the demo.
ABC (2.9/13) beat second-placed the WB by 7% (2.7/12), Fox by 38% (2.1/17) and CBS by 71% (1.7/8), according to Nielsen numbers for the morning (8 a.m.-1 p.m. ET) of Saturday, Feb. 17. With "Recess" in theaters, the animated TV show that inspired the movie is seeing its numbers jump.
With a 4.1 rating, "Recess-2" ranked No. 1 among kids 2-11 among its broadcast competish for the second week in a row, earning its second highest rating of the season (behind only the previous week). "Recess-1" won its half-hour, beating Fox's "Digimon: Digital Monsters" and WB's "Jackie Chan Adventures."
ABC also came out on top in total viewers 2-11, averaging 1.16 million tykes, to WB's 1.09 million, Fox's 860,000 and CBS' 690,000.
Elsewhere in Nielsen's fringe ratings report for the week starting Feb. 12, CBS News' "The Early Show" posted gains in total viewers and all key demos, while ABC News' "Good Morning America" dipped in all measures vs. a year ago.
In household ratings, "Early Show" posted a 2.3/9, up 5% from the same week a year ago (2.2/9), while "GMA" was down 7% (3.8/15 from 4.1/16). Ratings for NBC News' "Today" were delayed by Nielsen due to processing errors.
In total viewers, "Early Show" saw a 6% increase (2.72 million from 2.57 million) from the same week a year ago, while "GMA" dipped 8% (4.36 million from 4.76 million).
Among women 25-54, "Early" jumped 17% from the same week a year ago (1.4/10 from 1.2/8) while "GMA" dropped 12% (2.2/15 from 2.5/17) in the key demo. In adults 25-54, "Early" posted a 22% increase (1.1/9 from 0.9/7), while "GMA" dropped 6% (1.7/13 from 1.8/14).
