Political news did not help NBC Thursday night as the first edition of “Saturday Night Live†in prime time for the election year failed to ignite NBC's comedy lineup.
That lineup got off to a dismal start over all, with every show down significantly from last year's premieres.
That meant better news for Fox's “X Factor,†which showed a little growth from last week, though “Glee†still lost ground.
The “S.N.L.†special managed just a 1.6 rating in the 18-49 age group that determines much of prime-time ad sales. That audience was vastly down from the first prime-time edition four years ago, which scored what now looks like an astronomical 5.1 rating. The 2008 show was fueled by intense interest in Tina Fey's portrayal of Sarah Palin. This year, there is no comparable character driving interest.
But with that less-than-stellar number at the beginning of the night, the rest of NBC's comedy lineup performed limply. “Up All Night†could only manage a 1.3 rating, which was down from its 2.4 premiere a year ago. In a truly ominous sign for its last season, “The Office†tied its worst performance ever, with just a 2.1 rating. And the promising “Parks and Recreation,†with a special Washington-based episode, could only manage a 1.7 rating, down from a 2.1 premiere last year.
The “SNL†special (with a total audience of 5.1 million) and “The Office†(4.3 million) were the only NBC shows to draw over four million viewers.
NBC's comedies do tend to get sizable boosts from delayed viewing, but these initial numbers are not what the network hoped for - especially because they came against mostly repeat programming on ABC and CBS, which will throttle up next week with their big hits like “The Big Bang Theory†and “Grey's Anatomy.â€
“The X Factor†did benefit a bit, rising to a 3.4 rating, 10 percent ov er its last Thursday rating. But “Glee†with a 2.9 rating, was down 6 percent.
Bill Carter writes about the television industry. Follow @wjcarter on Twitter.
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