‘SNL UK’ Ratings Dive 36% To New Low For Riz Ahmed-Hosted Episode
Why it matters: SNL UK's live viewership dropped to 130,100, down 36% for the Riz Ahmed episode.
- SNL UK's third episode, hosted by Riz Ahmed, saw a 36% drop in live viewership from the previous week, attracting 130,100 viewers, a 42% decrease from its 226,000-viewer debut.
- Sky does not solely rely on overnight ratings, instead focusing on a broader view of the show's performance, including repeat broadcasts, catch-up viewing, and the vitality of individual sketches, such as the Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor cold open which garnered over 2 million YouTube views.
- Riz Ahmed himself joked about his potential unfamiliarity to some viewers in his opening monologue, while anonymous commenters suggested factors like a holiday weekend or the show's late Saturday slot contributed to the decline, with one noting the difficulty of finding the show in Canada.
Saturday Night Live UK experienced a significant 36% ratings dive for its third episode, hosted by Riz Ahmed, drawing only 130,100 viewers and marking a new low, despite still outperforming average Sky shows in its time slot. While live viewership has steadily declined since its Tina Fey-hosted premiere, Sky emphasizes that overnight ratings are not their sole metric for success, prioritizing broader performance indicators like online sketch vitality and catch-up viewing.
