Hosted SNL Scores Highest Ratings in Two Years

Key Points:

• Saturday Night Live's latest episode, hosted by Druski with musical guest The Strokes, attracted its largest audience in two years, averaging 5.6 million total viewers and 1.5 million adults aged 18–49, marking an 8% increase in total viewers and an 18% rise in the key demo compared to the Halloween episode.
• Year-over-year, the episode showed a 39% increase in total viewers and a 105% jump in the 18–49 demographic compared to the same episode last season, more than doubling the younger adult audience.
• The show's strong ratings were boosted by a significant rise in viewership for its college football lead-ins, with recent games drawing between 6.6 million and 8.5 million total viewers and up to 2.4 million adults 18–49.
• This weekend's episode featured a notable post-election cameo by Texas senator-elect James Talarico, paralleling a similar high-profile guest appearance in November 2024, which had drawn 6.8 million total viewers.
• While linear TV ratings are strong, digital engagement is also notable, with the episode's cold open becoming the most-watched video of the season on YouTube with over 11 million views, and Live+3 ratings expected to further increase total viewership figures.