NBC’s 50th anniversary special for “Saturday Night Live” hit a very strong 14.8 million viewers on average across NBC and Peacock on Sunday night.
That number is 202% above the average number of viewers who have tuned into each regular episode of “SNL” throughout its 50th season, which is 4.9 million — itself a 13% improvement on last season’s same-day viewership. And among the key adults 18-49 demographic, the special scored a 2.5 rating.
According to NBC, this is the network’s most-watched primetime entertainment telecast (meaning non-sports and non-news) in five years, since the 2020 Golden Globes Awards, as well as the fourth-most-watched entertainment telecast of all time on Peacock, only coming behind three Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade telecasts.
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Additionally, it can be expected that viewership for “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” will grow significantly in delayed viewing on Peacock and other digital platforms: Accounting for seven days of delayed viewing, “SNL” Season 50’s viewership average is 8.4 million, a 71% increase from the 4.9 million Live + Same Day total. (Each of these statistics comes from a combination of Nielsen’s measurement of linear viewers who tune into “SNL” via NBC and NBCUniversal’s own data regarding streams on Peacock.)
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It should also be noted that “SNL” gets a significant portion of its viewership on YouTube, where, for example, Sunday’s “Black Jeopardy” sketch has already reached 2.8 million views. NBC reports that the special reached 8.7 million social interactions and became the network’s “most social” entertainment telecast in two years as well as being the most social “SNL” episode ever.
The official red carpet for “SNL50” hit 6.5 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and E!, airing for the hour before the special with hosts Willie Geist and Leslie Jones plus correspondent Matt Rogers.
NBC did not report exact viewership for “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert,” which aired on Friday night, but did share that the special hit nearly double the average reach of “SNL” this season over a three-day period.
The culmination of a full season of programming celebrating the landmark anniversary, “SNL50” was full of celebrity guests and returning “SNL” cast members. Along with “Black Jeopardy,” which featured Kenan Thompson, Eddie Murphy, Tom Hanks, Leslie Jones and Chris Rock, standouts included Jack Nicholson introducing a song by Adam Sandler, Robert De Niro in Rachel Dratch’s “Debbie Downer” sketch, Meryl Streep and Pedro Pascal in Kate McKinnon’s alien abduction sketch and more. Musical performances included Sabrina Carpenter and Paul Simon opening the show with “Homeward Bound,” Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard singing “Nothing Compares 2 U” and Paul McCartney closing the special with a medley of “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End.”
“Saturday Night Live” and the anniversary special were created and executive produced by Lorne Michaels via his Broadway Video banner.
