SNL40 Dominates Sunday TV Ratings

NBC’s star-studded “Saturday Night Live” anniversary special on Sunday scored some of the network’s best ratings for an entertainment telecast in years, drawing numbers that were pretty close to what CBS did one week earlier with the Grammys.

The Peacock easily beat its combined ABC-CBS-Fox competition during primetime, accodient to Variety.

The 7.8 rating is the best for any NBC primetime entertainment telecast (excluding post-Super Bowl programs) since the “Will & Grace” finale in May 2006, and the 23.1 million total viewers is the net’s best since the night of the “Frasier” finale in May 2004.

And among all “SNL” primetime specials, last night’s is the highest-rated in 18-49 since a February 2001 edition following an episode of “Friends” (9.3) and the most-watched overall aince a “SNL Presidential Bash” in November 1992 (28.8 million).

Scoreboard courtesy of TVByThe Numbers

The ratings for the “SNL” special, which could come down a bit in the nationals once the final 30 minutes are included, were in the vicinity of the previous week’s Grammy Awards on CBS (8.3/23 in 18-49 and 24.8 million viewers overall ) and about what NBC averaged in the fall with its high-rated NFL “Sunday Night Football” package.