SNL gets massive viewership spike thanks to 50th anniversary special

Saturday Night Live received a giant boost in viewership over the weekend for its 50th anniversary special on television and streaming.

The special’s total viewership across NBC and its streaming platform Peacock, both of which are owned by Comcast, totaled 14.8 million, making it NBC’s most-watched prime-time entertainment telecast in five years. The last entertainment broadcast on NBC to get this much attention was the 2020 Golden Globes, which featured a famous monologue from comedian Ricky Gervais telling celebrities in attendance they knew “nothing of the real world.”