NBC's SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE is Show's Top-Rated in 18-49 in Nearly Two Years

The Jan. 16 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Adam Driver with musical guest Chris Stapleton, scored the show's highest adult 18-49 rating in nearly two years.

That night's "Saturday Night Live," delayed by an NFL overrun, averaged a 2.85 rating, 15 share in adults 18-49 and 7.912 million viewers overall from 12:16-1:46 a.m. ET, according to "live plus same day" viewership data from Nielsen Media Research.

The 2.85 rating in 18-49 is the highest for "Saturday Night Live" since the Feb. 1, 2014 edition hosted by Melissa McCarthy with musical guest Imagine Dragons (2.92), which was the last telecast for Seth Meyers as a regular.

In total viewers, it was the second-most-watched "Saturday Night Live" since that Feb. 1, 2014 edition (8.092 million), trailing over that span only the Nov. 7, 2015 telecast hosted by Donald Trump with musical guest Sia (9.272 million).

The Jan. 16 "Saturday Night Live" was the #1 non-sports show of the night on the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49 and total viewers, ahead of all primetime entertainment programs on those networks in both measures.

For the full week of Jan. 11-17, the only primetime non-sports telecasts on the Big 4 that rated higher than "Saturday Night Live's" 2.85 in 18-49 were CBS's "60 Minutes" (4.76) and "Big Bang Theory" (3.77).

Season to date, "Saturday Night Live" originals are up versus one year ago by +4% in adults 18-49 (with a 2.80 rating vs. a 2.68, "most current").

Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day."

Photo by: Dana Edelson/NBC