Advertisers are looking to reach the right audiences and tell their stories inside compelling content, Karen Kovacs, president of client partnerships at NBCUniversal Advertising and Partnerships, tells B+C.

NBCU is set up to respond to both of those needs during the upfront, Kovacs says.

“Our partners want to tell stories with our stories to the right strategic audiences,” she said. “It’s really nice to be able to deliver on both the premium content piece as well as having the tech innovations and the scale” they need to do the job.

In terms of content, NBCU has some big tentpoles coming up, starting with the Paris Summer Olympics.

“You’re going to see a lot of innovation as to how we’re storytelling around the Olympics,” she said.

After the Olympics, NBCU is in the market selling sponsorships for the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live.  The celebration will include a Friday-night concert at Radio City Music Hall right before the 50th anniversary broadcast.

Some key sponsors have already bought SNL packages, Kovacs said.

“We’re going to kick off the celebration coming right out of the Olympics this summer,” she said. “It’s SNL. It’s multigenerational. The brand has tremendous influence on our culture.”

Sports will also continue to be driver for NBCU, which will have the Super Bowl in 2026. That year it will also have the Milan Winter Olympics and the World Cup on Telemundo.

NBCU has also been investing in technology to help advertisers identify the audiences the will help them reach their marketing goals.

“We’ve really seen an industry shift taking place with strategic audiences,” Kovacs said. “They are already making up half of our linear and streaming business and it continues to grow.”

NBCU recently launched its one-platform total audiences, which uses artificial intelligence to help find strategic audiences at scale and forecast the size of those audiences across linear and streaming.

In the new media environment, tech companies are not only competing with video advertising, but increasingly participating in the upfront.

“We think we’re in a really interesting position,” Kovacs said. “We sort of stand alone in that we are a media powerhouse and we have tech prowess.”

Much of NBCU’s advertising innovation has originated with its Peacock streaming service.

Peacock has been expanding the amount of shoppable content it streams.

It is also going to be launching a product called virtual concessions, which gives viewers an opportunity to shop for food, beverages and snacks so they don’t have to leave the viewing experience.

Kovacs said it is pretty early to predict how the upfront market will go.

“Q4 looked pretty good,“ she said. “We saw some strengthening in the marketplace.” 

The strength of Olympic advertising has NBCU feeling optimistic because the Paris Games are on track to generate the most ad revenue in the history of the Olympics, and NBCU has already set a record for digital revenue.

NBCU also sees positive trend in some product categories, with improvement in consumer packaged goods and pharmaceuticals, Kovacs said.

Travel is sort of evening out, and the tech category is lagging a bit and hasn’t fully bounced back,” she said.

Emma Stone hosts Saturday Night Live December 2, her fifth time as host. Noah Kahan is the musical guest that night, his first time on the show. 

Stone is in the movie Poor Things, which is released December 8. She’s also in The Curse on Showtime. Her past films include La La Land, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Help. 

Kahan is nominated for Best New Artist at the 2024 Grammy Awards. 

A week later, Adam Driver hosts the show for the fourth time. His movie Ferrari is in theaters December 25. After making his name on Girls, his film work includes Frances Ha, Paterson and playing Kylo Ren in various Star Wars movies. 

Olivia Rodrigo is the musical guest December 9, her second time on SNL. Rodrigo’s sophomore album is called “Guts.”

Former SNL cast member Kate McKinnon hosts for the first time December 16. She plays Weird Barbie in the film Barbie. McKinnon was a cast member on SNL 2012 to 2022. 

Billie Eilish is the musical guest December 16, her third time. 

SNL is on NBC and streams live on Peacock. It is in season 49. 

The show is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels.

Quinta Brunson, creator of Abbott Elementary, hosts Saturday Night Live for the first time April 1. Lil Yachty is the musical guest that night for the first time. 

Besides the show creator, Brunson is executive producer, writer and star of Abbott Elementary on ABC.

Lil Yacht’s latest album is called Let’s Start Here.

Molly Shannon hosts SNL for the second time April 8. She’s in the movie A Good Person and is on the HBO Max show The Other Two. She has a memoir called Hello, Molly!

Shannon was an SNL cast member from 1995 to 2001. 

Jonas Brothers are the musical guest April 8, their third time on the show. Their new album, The Album, comes out May 12. 

Ana de Armas will host SNL for the first time April 15. De Armas stars in Ghosted, premiering April 21 on Apple TV Plus. Her movie work includes Blonde, No Time to Die and Knives Out.  

Karol G will make her first appearance as musical guest. Her newest album is called “Mañana Será Bonito.” 

Airing on NBC, Saturday Night Live is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels. ■

Woody Harrelson hosts Saturday Night Live February 25, Travis Kelce does so March 4, and Jenna Ortega hosts the NBC program March 11. 

Harrelson has hosted four times previously. He made his name on Cheers and was in True Detective. His films include White Men Can’t Jump, Natural Born Killers, LBJ and The Hunger Games franchise. Harrelson’s movie Champions premieres March 10. 

Jack White is the musical guest February 25, his fourth time as a solo act, with one more as part of the White Stripes.

Kelce plays tight end for the Super Bowl champ Kansas City Chiefs. It will be his first time hosting.    

Kelsea Ballerini is the musical guest March 4, her first time on SNL. 

Ortega is the star of Netflix series Wednesday. Her movie Scream VI comes out March 10. March 11 will be her first time hosting SNL.  

The 1975 is the musical guest on SNL March 11. The English band was the musical guest one other time.  

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

Cecily Strong announced her departure from Saturday Night Live December 17. Appearing as her character Cathy Anne on Weekend Update, she explained the reason why she is leaving. “Turns out, prison,” she told anchor Michael Che. 

“Everybody has to go to jail at some point, and it’s just my time now, but I feel really lucky that I got to spend so many of the best moments of my life with these people that I love so much,” Strong added. 

Strong joined SNL in 2012. She anchored Weekend Update with Seth Meyers in 2013. 

Strong’s characters include Cathy Ann, Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party and Judge Jeanine Pirro. 

As the episode concluded, host Austin Butler and the cast serenaded Strong with Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas.”

Strong hosted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2015 and stars in Apple TV Plus series Schmigadoon. ■

Saturday Night Live cast member Chris Redd has departed the sketch show. Redd has been with Saturday Night Live since fall 2017. 

A statement from Redd ran in The New York Times: “Being a part of ‘S.N.L’ has been the experience of a lifetime. Five years ago, I walked into 30 Rock knowing that this was an amazing opportunity for growth. Now, with friends who have become family and memories I will cherish forever, I’m grateful to Lorne Michaels and to the entire ‘S.N.L.’ organization. From the bottom of my heart, I can’t thank you all enough.”

Redd played Kanye West, Will Smith and New York Mayor Eric Adams, among others, on SNL. 

Redd was also in the cast of NBC comedy Kenan, with SNL cast member Kenan Thompson, and Netflix comedy Disjointed. Both have been canceled. 

Following the departures of Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Pete Davidson, among others, SNL announced four new hires last week: Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker. 

Season 48 begins October 1. ■

Miles Teller is the host on the season 48 premiere of Saturday Night Live on NBC Oct. 1. Teller is in Top Gun: Maverick. It is the actor’s first time hosting SNL. His other film work includes Fantastic Four and Only the Brave. 

Kendrick Lamar is the musical guest on that episode, his third time on the show. 

Brendan Gleeson hosts for the first time Oct. 8. He stars in the film The Banshees of Inisherin. Willow is the musical guest that day for the first time. 

On Oct. 15, Megan Thee Stallion does double duty as host and musical guest. She’s never hosted SNL before, and has been the musical guest twice. Her latest album, “Traumazine”, came out Aug. 12. 

Other stars who’ve hosted and been musical guest on the same night include Paul Simon, Lizzo and Billie Eilish. 

Four performers have been added to the cast this season: Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker.

Saturday Night Live won the 2022 Emmy for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series. The show is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels. ■

Four featured players have been named to the cast on Saturday Night Live. Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker join the show for season 48. The season premiere is on NBC Oct. 1.

Hernandez is a comedian, writer and actor of Cuban/Dominican descent. From Miami, he was selected as a Just for Laughs New Face of Comedy in 2022.

Kearney was selected for Comedy Central’s Up Next showcase in 2019. From Cleveland, they can be seen in Prime Video’s A League of Their Own and Disney Plus’s The Mighty Ducks.

Longfellow has been featured on Netflix’s Introducing... showcase and NBC’s Bring the Funny. He’s from Phoenix.

Walker was selected for Comedy Central’s Up Next showcase in 2017. From Austin, he has written for Freeform’s Everything’s Trash and Netflix’s Big Mouth.

Cast members who departed after last season include Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney, Melissa Villaseñor, Alex Moffat and Aristotle Athari.

Saturday Night Live won the 2022 Emmy for outstanding variety sketch series. The show is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels. ■

Saturday Night Live wrapped up its 47th season on NBC this past Saturday. And while the biggest constant for the long-running sketch comedy show is that it’s always changing, it also remains a consistent draw for both audiences and advertisers.

Below, we take a look at how SNL performed by TV ad impressions and its social video viewership, using network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv, and online video views via Tubular Labs.

A Top 15 Program for NBC by TV Ad Impressions

SNL has been an institution for NBC for nearly five decades. For its 47th season — October 2, 2021 through May 21, 2022 — the program was No. 15 by TV ad impressions delivered, with over 3.0 billion, or 1.39% of the total on NBC during first-airing programming, according to data from iSpot. 

The show stacks up well when compared to programs appearing across all four major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) as well. Across its 47th season, Saturday Night Live was No. 4 among comedy and variety shows on the Big Four, with 11.0% of impressions, and the only one in the top five to air just once per week. Narrowing things to just primetime and late fringe p.m. dayparts on those networks, SNL sits at No. 41 for non-sports or news programs — with 0.94% of impressions. 

Which brands were the beneficiaries of those impressions? Progressive was the most-seen advertiser during SNL all season, with 1.79% of impressions, followed by Disney Plus (1.62%), Kohl's (1.60%), T-Mobile (1.35%), and Target (1.35%). Department stores led the way by industries, accounting for 6.89% of impressions during the season, but theatrical movies (6.70%) and streaming services (5.93%) were close behind. 

The entertainment emphasis for advertisers also shows the value of SNL’s audience for both streaming subscribers and moviegoers. And interestingly, a large portion of those impressions were actually for services and movies not owned by NBCUniversal. Disney Plus, Warner Bros., and Apple TV Plus all had more impressions during the show than Universal Pictures or Peacock did. The six most-seen streaming or theatrical release ads during SNL this season were all non-NBCU entities as well, led by MGM’s spot for Licorice Pizza.

Over 5 Billion Minutes Watched Across Facebook and YouTube

For years, Saturday Night Live has leaned into the evolution of its viewership, uploading sketches to social video platforms to encourage audiences to watch and share individual sketches — whether they actually tuned in when it originally aired or not. 

Over the course of the show’s 47th season, global viewers watched over 5 billion minutes of SNL highlights on YouTube and Facebook, according to Tubular Audience Ratings. That includes a monthly high of more than 813 million minutes in October 2021 alone. Since the start of 2022, audiences have been tuning in for an average of more than 500 million minutes across those two platforms each month. About 20% of those minutes watched are coming from viewers under 25 years old.

In April 2022, SNL was 13th among U.S. broadcast, cable, radio and film creators by minutes watched, coming in behind Jimmy Kimmel Live (564.2 million minutes) and ahead of Inside Edition (431.4 million). Among NBCU-owned creators, Saturday Night Live was only behind MSNBC (over 1 billion minutes), Telemundo’s Caso Cerrado (827.3 million) and NBC News (801.9 million).

Across YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, SNL had 794 million video views this season, led by October’s Squid Game spoof, with over 13.6 million views. Of the 10 most-watched videos uploaded by the show this season, four featured Kim Kardashian (who hosted in October), and six featured now-outgoing cast member – and Kim Kardashian’s current boyfriend – Pete Davidson. 

Just three of the top 10 videos were pre-filmed sketches, led by the aforementioned Squid Game segment. While “Weekend Update” has been one of the show’s most popular elements for some time, just one of the show’s top 20 social videos were from that segment (this bit about Will Smith and Chris Rock received 7.3 million views). Just one of SNL’s 20 most-watched – this “Republican or Not” skit with 4.6 million views – was inherently political in nature. ■

Six years ago, several embarrassing viral audio clips emerged, featuring befuddled Comcast customers desperately trying to cancel their service, only to be flummoxed by a confounding shell game of transfers, lengthy holds and inexplicable badgering from reps trying convince them to upgrade their service, not cancel it. 

The ghastly optics convinced Comcast to embark on what it marketed as a $350 million customer service face lift.

In regard to Comcast and the rest of the U.S. cable and telecom industry, nothing as unseemly seems to have hit the social internet since that time. 

Nonetheless, the public image damage to the broader cable biz seems to be: when Saturday Night Live decides to skewer something in a sketch, it's usually a phenomenon or annoyance that's become relatable in a mainstream way. 

And unfortunately for Charter Communications and its Spectrum brand, Saturday night's latest SNL sketch featuring guest star Kieran Culkin, titled Cancelling Cable, doesn't feature Xfinity reps. 

Meh, these regional monopolists share so much. Might as well share awful reputations. 

Take a gander at the sketch below. 

Kieran Culkin, in the cast on HBO’s Succession, hosts Saturday Night Live on NBC for the first time Nov. 6. Ed Sheeran is the musical guest that night. 

Culkin plays Roman Roy on Succession, which began season three Oct. 17. 

Jonathan Majors, star of the film The Harder They Fall, hosts SNL Nov. 13. A western, The Harder They Fall is on Netflix Nov. 3. Taylor Swift is the musical guest on that episode, her fifth time on SNL. 

Simu Liu, star of Marvel movie Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, hosts Nov. 20. Saweetie is the musical guest, for the first time, that night. Saweetie releases her debut album, Pretty Bitch Music, early in 2022. 

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

Saturday Night Live shared its roster for the upcoming 47th season, with newcomers Aristotle Athari, James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman joining the ensemble. Beck Bennett, who came on board SNL in 2013, is not returning. 

Bennett portrayed Mike Pence, Vladimir Putin, President Clinton and Wolf Blitzer, among other characters. “Gonna miss you so much,” Bennett said on Instagram. “Thank you for 8 years of remarkable people and incredible experiences that completely changed my life. I had so much fun.”

The cast includes Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Melissa Villaseñor and Bowen Yang, featuring Aristotle Athari, Andrew Dismukes, James Austin Johnson, Punkie Johnson and Sarah Sherman. 

Saturday Night Live premieres Oct. 2 on NBC, with Owen Wilson hosting and Kacey Musgraves providing the music.

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

Saturday Night Live starts season 47 Oct. 2 on NBC, with Owen Wilson hosting and Kacey Musgraves the musical guest. It is Wilson’s first time hosting. He’s in Loki on Disney Plus, and his films include Bottle Rocket, Midnight in Paris and Wedding Crashers. 

Musgraves was the show’s musical guest once before. 

A week later, Kim Kardashian West hosts for the first time and Halsey provides the music. 

Rami Malek hosts for the first time Oct. 16, with Young Thug the musical guest, and Jason Sudeikis hosts Oct. 23. A cast member on SNL until his departure in 2013, it is Sudeikis’s first time hosting. He co-created Ted Lasso and stars in the show. 

Brandi Carlile is musical guest that night, her first time on SNL.

Shows are live streamed on Peacock. Peacock has every season of SNL, which won eight Emmy Awards in 2021, including Outstanding Variety Sketch Series.

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

With Saturday Night Live finishing its 46th season on May 22, we’re taking a look at the advertising and social video trends around the iconic NBC show, with insights from iSpot.tv and Tubular Labs.

In total, new episodes of Saturday Night Live generated 3.1 billion TV ad impressions this season, according to iSpot. While this represented a 12.4% increase from the previous season, it’s worth keeping in mind season 45 was impacted by COVID-related shutdowns. By comparison, season 46 saw a 7.75% decrease in TV ad impressions compared to the last “normal” season, which was its 44th. 

Top brands by TV ad impressions for SNL’s 46th season included State Farm (61.4 million TV ad impressions), Kohl’s (59.2 million), Verizon (58.4 million), T-Mobile (56.5 million) and McDonald’s (55.3 million), according to iSpot. State Farm, T-Mobile and Kohl’s were also in the top 10 ranking for brands by impressions for the previous season.

Also Read: NBC Shares Upfront Plans

The most-seen (non-network promo) spot during SNL’s 46th season was Verizon’s “The 5G Frontier,” with 38.6 million TV ad impressions. Per iSpot’s Ace Metrix, this ad scored above the norm for all industries for aspects including watchability, information and product desire. The No. 2 ad by impressions during SNL’s 46th season was “Parker Promo” from State Farm, with 29.5 million TV ad impressions. According to Ace Metrix survey data, 29% of respondents considered the characters to be the single best thing about the ad. 

Of course, the TV screen is just one way that viewers engage with SNL — social video has proved to be an extremely effective way for NBC to reach a broader audience for the show. According to social video analytics company Tubular Labs, SNL videos on YouTube have racked up 2.1 billion views this season from 374 uploads. In April, Saturday Night Live had 17.4 million global unique viewers across YouTube and Facebook, with 678.8 million minutes watched globally, per Tubular Audience Ratings. And looking at just the U.S. audience in April, SNL was the third most-watched entertainment creator across YouTube and Facebook, with 523.7 million minutes watched from U.S. viewers in April.

The top video from this season by YouTube views was the premiere’s cold open featuring the first debate between Joe Biden (portrayed by Jim Carrey) and Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin), with 31.2 million views. Elon Musk’s monologue was another big social video for SNL, landing at No. 8 for the show’s top YouTube videos with 9 million views, 7.8 million of which occurred in the first three days, according to Tubular’s V3 metric (which measures views within three days of publishing). 

Musk’s guest-hosting stint helped spark a wave of YouTube uploads from independent accounts as well: From May 8-10, there were over 3,000 videos uploaded across social video platforms related to Elon Musk (some of which were about Musk generally — meaning they didn’t necessarily reference his SNL gig). This was a 320% increase from the previous weekend, which had only 760 Musk-related videos uploaded.

Many of the top SNL-related videos by views (from all accounts) for the May 8-10 weekend were related to what Musk said about Dogecoin during his episode, such as this one, with 1.1 million views to date. It’s the No. 2 YouTube video related to Musk that was uploaded the weekend of his SNL appearance.

Anya Taylor-Joy will make her Saturday Night Live hosting debut for the season finale May 22 on NBC. Taylor-Joy stars in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit. Based on the Walter Tevis novel, The Queen’s Gambit is about an orphan, portrayed by Taylor-Joy, who goes on to be a chess superstar. It debuted on Netflix in October. 

Lil Nas X will make his first appearance on SNL as the musical guest that night. 

Elon Musk hosts Saturday Night Live May 8, his first time hosting the show. Musk is CEO of Tesla and chief engineer of SpaceX. 

Miley Cyrus will be the musical guest that night. It will be her sixth time as the musical guest. 

Keegan-Michael Key will host SNL for the first time May 15. He’s in musical comedy Schmigadoon!, which premieres on Apple TV Plus July 16. Key was previously on Key & Peele and hosts game show Game On! on CBS. 

Olivia Rodrigo will be the musical guest when Key hosts. 

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

Maya Rudolph hosts Saturday Night Live March 27. Rudolph was a cast member on the show from 2000 to 2007. She portrays VP Kamala Harris on SNL. She hosted once before. 

Jack Harlow is the musical guest. His debut album is “Thats What They All Say.”

April 3, Daniel Kaluuya, star of Judas and the Black Messiah, is the host and St. Vincent the musical guest. Her album “Daddy’s Home” is released May 14. 

On April 10, Carey Mulligan, star of Promising Young Woman, hosts and Kid Cudi is the musical guest. Kid’s latest album is “Man on the Moon III: The Chosen.”

Airing on NBC, Saturday Night Live is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels. 

Nick Jonas will be host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live Feb. 27. It is Jonas’s first time hosting and second time as solo musical guest on the NBC program. 

Jonas, who came to fame as part of the Jonas Brothers, will perform his song “Spaceman,” due out Feb. 25. 

He returns as a coach on NBC competition series The Voice, which is on March 1. Jonas is in the movie Chaos Walking, which premieres March 5. 

Others who have done double duty as host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live include Harry Styles, Halsey and Justin Timberlake. 

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

Every season of SNL streams on Peacock. 

NBC’s Saturday Night Live generally thrives in election years, and 2020 appeared to be yet another example of that lift.

On the year, SNL has 2.5 billion views on YouTube — which is about 7% lower than last year but also featured over 200 fewer video uploads. According to Tubular Audience Ratings, SNL had 20.7 million unique viewers across YouTube and Facebook in November 2020 — good for 116th across global creators on the two platforms. With 973.4 million minutes watched, SNL was 25th overall globally as well. 

Riding political content, October was the show’s best month of the year, with 395.8 million views and over 1.1 billion minutes watched.

Further utilizing Tubular, V3 data (views in the first three days since uploading) allows us to compare SNL’s YouTube videos across all of 2020, to see which were most popular in the days immediately following airing on TV. To little surprise, most of the top videos were politically focused, though there were some exceptions.

Top 10 SNL videos of 2020, by V3:

1. First Debate Cold Open (16.2 million)
2. Biden Victory Cold Open (13.3 million)
3. Dr. Anthony Fauci Cold Open (11.9 million)
4. Undercover Boss: Where Are They Now? (11.1 million)
5. VP Fly Debate Cold Open (10.5 million)
6. Dave Chappelle Stand-Up Monologue (9.7 million)
7. Final Debate Cold Open (8.7 million)
8. Dueling Town Halls Cold Open (7.5 million)
9. Coronavirus Cold Open (5.4 million)
10. Uncle Ben (5.3 million)

Notably, eight of the top 10 videos were from the current season, which started in the fall. And all but one (“Uncle Ben”) was politically focused. Dave Chappelle was also in two of the videos: his stand-up monologue on the Saturday following the U.S. presidential election and the aforementioned “Uncle Ben” skit. Additionally, five of the top 15 videos by V3 for the entire year came from Chappelle’s Nov. 8 hosting gig.

SNL’s success wasn’t limited to social video, either. In a year where TV tentpole events were hard to come by, the show still managed to succeed, especially once the most recent season got started and leaned all the way into content around the upcoming election.

Looking at live, new episodes only via iSpot, estimated TV ad spend was up 102.8% during SNL in 2020 (for the period from Jan. 1 through Dec. 14), landing at $107.1 million. TV ad impressions during the show were also up 18.5%, to 3.20 billion. The show was 13th by impressions among all shows on NBC in the timeframe, vs. 23rd in 2019.

Brands benefited from the uptick in interest as well, clearly, based on the ad impressions increase. Of the top 10 brands by impressions during SNL in 2020, six saw year-over-year increases — led by Verizon, also the most-seen advertisers, at 349%. As a result of that and T-Mobile’s own 33% increase during the show, wireless ad impressions were up 95.7% for SNL this year, to lead all industries. Verizon also had the most-seen ad during SNL, with “The 5G Frontier” garnering 37.6 million impressions.

The image below shows the top 10 brand advertisers during SNL ranked by impressions, plus year-over-year shifts.

Jason Bateman hosts NBC’s Saturday Night Live Dec. 5, and Morgan Wallen is the musical guest. A country singer, Wallen was to be the musical guest Oct. 10, but was replaced after violating COVID protocols. 

In early October, clips of Wallen appeared on social media that showed him drinking shots, kissing fans and mingling without a mask. 

Wallen’s new album is “Dangerous: The Double Album”. It will be his first time on the show. 

Bateman is on Netflix drama Ozark as director, producer and star. 

Dec. 12, Timothee Chalamet hosts the show, and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are the musical guest. Chalamet’s movies include The French Dispatch and Dune. It is his hosting debut. 

Springsteen will appear for the third time. 

Dece. 19, the host is Kristen Wiig, a cast member on Saturday Night Live 2005 to 2012. Starring in Wonder Woman 1984, it is her fourth time hosting SNL. Dua Lipa is the musical guest for the second time. 

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

Comedian Dave Chappelle hosts Saturday Night Live on NBC Nov. 7, his second time hosting. Foo Fighters are the musical guest. 

Chappelle hosted SNL after the 2016 presidential election. His most recent standup special is Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones on Netflix. He previously was on Chappelle’s Show on Comedy Central. 

Foo Fighters have been the musical guest on SNL seven times. The band, fronted by Dave Grohl, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its self-titled debut album. 

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

The cast includes Beck Bennett, Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Kenan Thompson, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Chris Redd and Cecily Strong. 

The show is broadcast live from Studio 8H in New York’s Rockefeller Center. 

Comedian John Mulaney hosts Saturday Night Live on NBC Oct. 31. The Strokes are the musical guest that day. 

Mulaney will star in two upcoming Sack Lunch Bunch specials on Comedy Central, after his parody of children’s programming John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch premiered on Netflix late last year. Mulaney spent four years as a writer on Saturday Night Live. He also starred in the Fox comedy Mulaney. 

It is the Strokes’ fourth time as musical guest on SNL. The New York band’s new album is entitled “The New Abnormal.” Julian Casablancas fronts the band. 

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

Chris Rock will host Saturday Night Live when the new season premieres Oct. 3. It will be the comedian’s third time hosting the program. Megan Thee Stallion makes her SNL musical guest debut that same day. 

Saturday Night Live starts the new season, its 46th, with five consecutive shows starting Oct. 3 on NBC. 

Jim Carrey will play Joe Biden in the new season. 

Rock was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1993. His films include Top Five and I Think I Love My Wife. Rock stars in the new season of Fargo, on FX starting Sept. 27. 

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

Jim Carrey will play Joe Biden in the new season of Saturday Night Live. The series premieres Oct. 3 on NBC. 

Saturday Night Live is planning to have what it calls a “limited” audience at Rockefeller Center this season amid the pandemic. Season 46 begins with five weekly programs. 

Carrey got his start on In Living Color. His films include Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. He was on the Showtime series Kidding. 

Alec Baldwin portrays Biden’s adversary for the White House, President Trump. 

SNL has added three featured players: Laruen Holt from Upright Citizens Brigade, Punkie Johnson, whose credits include Space Force and Adam Ruins Everything, and Andrew Dismukes, an SNL staff writer since season 43. 

Season 46 of Saturday Night Live premieres on NBC Oct. 3. The show will originate from Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center. NBC did not divulge the host for opening night. 

Season 45 was halted in March due to the pandemic, and resumed with remotely produced episodes. 

Beck Bennett, Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Melissa Villasenor and Bowen Yang are in the cast. 

Lorne Michaels is executive producer. 

Saturday Night Live is a production of Broadway Video in association with SNL Studios. 

For the 23 million who were engaged with NBC’s Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special, there was another pretty good live event in New York on Sunday night.

Those lucky enough to be inside the transformed Madison Square Garden or watching the TNT/TBS simulcast of the 64th NBA All-Star witnessed some sweet moves (and a few lowlights) in the highest-scoring contest in the event's history.

The ASG in NYC --the West prevailed 163-158 -- began with the tip between the Brothers Gasol, with Pau winning on a double hit.  The big men for Spain were largely lost in the run-and-gun affair, although Marc did catch LeBron James’s attention with a crushing blow on a corner three point attempt.

The King didn’t take kindly to the body block, expressing his royal displeasure by later attempting an inbound decapitation with a pass off the back of Mark’s noggin.

LeBron loathers also had other reasons to revel. The Earl of Akron smacked an underhand alley-oop set-up from John Wall off the back rim and gave new meaning to the phrase wide left, when he missed the backboard on  what appeared to be a self-pass a la Tracey McGrady.

To be fair, LBJ notched 30, including a reverse alley-oop slam(Zack LaVine, anyone?) to pass Kareem and Michael Jordan and become the second All-Star scorer behind Kobe.  The absent Laker still leads by two.

Carmelo Anthony’s single ASG mark of 8 treys from last year withstood challenges by Kyle “Ashton Kutcher” Korver and James “The Beard” Harden, both of whom connected on seven from downtown.  

The hometown representative clanged it around like much of the Knicks’ abysmal season. Melo's futility included a pair of three-point misses on the East’s final possession -- he closed matters with 6 of 20 from the floor, before likely moving on to the operating table.

Russell Westbrook, perhaps the NBA’s most athletic player, had 25 with 7 minutes to go in the second quarter.  His full-game repertoire featured a quintet of threes, a number of rim-rocking dunks, and by his own admission four or five missed layups. Had he connected on one of those, the game's MVP would have dunked Wilt Chamberlain’s 42-point ASG record. That mark has stood since The Dipper’s incredible (50.4 points-per-game, 100-point-game outburst) 1962 season.

Sunday night's most entertaining player, though, was Saturday night's three-point champ, Steph Curry. While he disappointed in the horrendous Game Changer contest against John Wall during the team’s practices early that afternoon, Curry’s handle was in full flow, as he set up teams with an array of between the legs, around the back and alley-oop passes. (Dallas’ Dirk Novitizki got caught up in the moment, reaching into the past for a two-hand flush and then struck a vince Carter pose.)

But the highlight of the night from this perch on media row was Curry’s double behind the back dribble that led to an elongated one-hand scoop shot off the floor that evaded Al Horford’s reach and touched just below the top of the board before settling into the cylinder -- a Rafterian kiss the night after Valentine’s.

There was plenty of entertainment off the court as well.  Cast members from Broadway’s "Jersey Boys," "Mama Mia" and "Chicago" did their things, flouting short medleys as nationwide tourism plugs.  

An attempted “New York, New York” crowd sing-along went largely silent – wrong building, wrong borough.

Steve Schirripa engaged Curry, fellow "splash brother" Klay Thompson  and Atlanta's center Horford in “Wiseguy Vocabulary” on the giant scoreboard. Pau easily turned in the best "fuhgettaboutit" of the bunch.

There was also an inflatable mascot cotillion. Harry the Hawks and Hugo The Hornet were in perfect lockstep during Michael Bolton’s "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?”

As for celebrity row sightings, Bill Clinton received the biggest hand, although the former President and the Secret Service detail should have wagged their fingers to shoo Dikembe Mutumbo from blocking their views.

There were the usual suspects: Ben Stiller and wife Christine Taylor, Jay-Z and Bey, who usually sit first row at Barclays, and Spike Lee in a ridiculous get-up.

Rihanna sat to the right of the director, while Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes also had front row game -- authorizing billions of dollars in rights checks has its privileges.    

On court, five of the game’s greats gathered: Magic, Doc, Kareem, The Big O and Russ.

For their part, Knicks trotted out six:  BKing, Dollar Bill, Phil Jackson, The Pearl, Clyde in a cowskin suit and The Captain. One didn’t deserve action there.

Given the state of the Lakers and his various injuries, the 2015 All-Star Game could mark Kobe’s last major hurrah. There won’t be any Olympics like in 2014 and presumably NBC won’t be serving up a 41st anniversary of Saturday Night Live special to steal viewers.  However, AMC’s The Walking Dead will be still be stalking and there certainly won’t be any home-court Nielsen advantage from Toronto.

Still, the phrase Live from Toronto may have a nicer Nielsen ring to it than the 7.2 million who tuned in the TNT/TBS simulcast from New York.