The 50th anniversary of the cult show attracted 14.8 million viewers across the American network and Peacock, according to Nielsen and NBCUniversal figures.

This is a real boon for NBC, which scored its best primetime audience in five years for an entertainment show. The previous record-holder, the 2020 Golden Globes, attracted 18.33 million viewers, The Hollywood Reporter stated.

In addition to achieving the channel’s best performance, “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” more than tripled the show’s usual average audience, of around 4.9 million viewers.

Younger viewers were more enticed, with around 3.39 million people aged between 18 and 49 tuning in to watch “SNL 50.”

While the “Saturday Night Live” 40th anniversary show drew 23.1 million viewers on NBC alone on Feb 15, 2015, the 2025 audience figures could well surpass this record after seven days of availability on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming platform.

The allure of this SNL special began on the red carpet. The pre-show broadcast of the stars arriving on the red carpet averaged 6.5 million viewers on NBC, Peacock and E! Entertainment. Guests included Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Pedro Pascal, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey and Andy Samberg.

What’s more, the special generated a real buzz on social networks, garnering more than 8.7 million interactions, making it the network’s “most social” entertainment telecast in two years, according to NBC.