Saturday Night Live Premiere Delivers Ratings Gold

Michael Phelps' winning streak continues. Though the Olympic gold-medalist host more or less treaded water while Tina Fey's return and a cameo by William Shatner generated the biggest and best buzz, Saturday Night Live this weekend delivered its best premiere ratings in seven years, netting a 7.4 household rating/18 share in the 55 metered markets. It also marked SNL's most-watched installment since Dec. 17, 2002 (when former vice president Al Gore hosted).The sketch show's 34th season opener — whose ratings do not include New Orleans or the Hurricane Ike-targeted Houston, Texas — was up 64 percent compared to last year's Lebron James-fronted premiere. — Matt MitovichRelated:• Read Erin's in-depth recap of the SNL premiere• Matt Roush on SNL Opener: Fey Flies, Phelps Sinks • Cheers to SNL's Palin-Clinton: That's the Ticket!• Rain Check? Obama Nixes SNL Visit Due to Hurricane • Use our Online Video Guide to catch up on SNL clips

TV GuideNews Sept. 14, 2008 at 10:05 p.m. PT