‘SNL50’ Anniversary Special Draws 14.8M Viewers Across NBC & Peacock​on February 18, 2025 at 12:00 am

NBC‘s 3 hour+ SNL50: The Anniversary Special on Sunday night logged 14.8 million viewers and a 2.53 rating in the 18-49 demo across both the broadcast network and Peacock in time zone-adjusted Live + Same Day ratings.

The telecast, which aired from Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center live across the country starting at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT, became NBC’s most-watched primetime entertainment telecast in both total viewers and 18-49 demo in five years, since the 2020 Golden Globe Awards. (Overall, SNL50 is behind the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which has been reaching new heights the last three years, most recently attracting a record 31.3M viewers in November.)

Per NBC, SNL50 was the most-watched entertainment simulcast on Peacock, also behind only three telecasts of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

With 8.7 million social interactions, SNL50 is NBC’s most social entertainment telecast in two years and is the highest-performing Saturday Night Live episode/special on record for social interaction. The network is expected to release additional social media stats, including viewing on YouTube where clips from the special already have amassed millions of views, later this week.

SNL50: The Red Carpet, which aired live from 7-8 PM ET and was hosted by Willie Geist and Leslie Jones, along with correspondent Matt Rogers, drew 6.5 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and E!

The network did not release ratings for SNL50: The Homecoming Concert, which aired Friday at 8 PM ET on Peacock live from Radio City Music Hall.

The SNL50 special on Sunday featured a mix of recent and classic SNL characters and sketches as well as music performances, including a memorable SNL anniversary-themed song by Adam Sandler, introduced by Jack Nicholson. You can watch it below.

Saturday Night Live”is produced in association with Broadway Video. Lorne Michaels is the creator and executive producer.