Donald Trump gives ‘Saturday Night Live’ a ratings boost

Donald Trump’s hosting stint on Saturday Night Live (SNL) lifted the NBC late-night programme to its highest rating since January 7, 2012.

The Saturday telecast averaged a 6.6 rating and a 16 per cent share of the TV audience in the 56 markets that Nielsen tabulates for overnight ratings. It was the strongest overnight number for SNL since former NBA star Charles Barkley hosted the programme.

But the well-publicised appearance by Trump falls far short of the 10.7 overnight rating the show received on October 18, 2008, when Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin was featured. At the time, it was the highest rated SNL in 14 years.

National ratings with the average number of viewers watching the show with Trump and musical guest Sia will be issued on Thursday.

NBC expected a boost as Trump, the front-runner in the 2016 race for the Republican presidential nomination, has attracted viewers to news programmes and debates since the start of his campaign.

Based on the overnight ratings, the number for Trump’s appearance was 53 per cent higher than the programme’s average for original episodes in November 2014.