Ratings: “SNL” Premiere With Ryan Gosling & Jay-Z Falls From Last Year, Still Solid

Saturday’s “SNL” was not as hot as last year’s premiere, but it still drew a solid audience.

Ryan Gosling, Jay-Z on SNL | Will Heath/NBC

Featuring host Ryan Gosling and musical guest Jay-Z, this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” premiere drew a smaller audience than last year’s ratings.

Its numbers were, however, still quite good.

Citing fast live+same-day data, NBC says Saturday’s premiere drew a 1.9 adults 18-49 rating and 7.02 million overall viewers.

Last year’s premiere drew a stronger 2.34 rating and 8.30 million viewer mark.

That premiere was, however, the only “SNL” season opener since 2010 to draw a bigger audience.

— It should be noted that comparisons between Saturday’s opener and past premieres are not apples-to-apples. “SNL” now airs twice on the west coast — once live at 8:30PM PT and then on tape-delay at 11:30PM PT. The aforementioned ratings include unduplicated viewers from both telecasts.

Past “SNL” premieres only aired once (on tape-delay) in the west.

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.