SNL50: NBC’s High-Stakes Celebration That Shook Up the TV Landscape!

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The path taken over many years, culminating in last week’s “SNL50” events, was not just an intricate broadcast schedule for NBCUniversal. Instead, it served as a trial to push their limits and capabilities.

On February 14, the “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert” at Radio City Music Hall and the February 16 “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” are excellent instances of unique live events that NBCU anticipates will attract substantial audiences to generate significant profits, in contrast to the ever-growing fragmentation of television viewership.

Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes SNL50 Photos Below

By accounting for a few days’ worth of delayed viewing and social media activity, as well as anniversary specials and concerts, plus the “SNL50: The Red Carpet” broadcast on Feb 16th, the total viewership has reached approximately 220 million viewers who collectively watched around 3.9 billion minutes of content across NBC, Peacock, digital platforms, and social media, according to research by NBC Universal.

The extended anniversary episode, lasting approximately 3.5 hours, was watched by roughly 20 million people, with NBC contributing around 16 million of those viewers. The entire 50th season of the show has sold out all its advertising spots both on linear TV and streaming platforms. To date, Season 50, which still has almost three months left, has generated “unprecedented revenue for any ‘SNL’ season ever,” as stated by NBCUniversal.

Under the guidance of Lorne Michaels, creator-producer of SNL, the events surrounding SNL50 provided NBCU with an opportunity to showcase their ability to combine NBC broadcast, Peacock streaming, and several digital platforms to attract a large live audience. This approach is crucial as NBCU invests billions into its new NBA contract and prepares for the sale of seven linear cable channels, such as USA, CNBC, and MSNBC, later this year.

Essentially, NBC Universal aimed to demonstrate that an event unique to NBC, like “SNL50”, could serve dual purposes – celebrating the milestone while also generating revenue.

Donna Langley, chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios, commented to EbMaster that the engineering of a culturally homogeneous period, as seen during SNL50 weekend and beyond, showcases the effectiveness of the NBCUniversal system in action.

Expanding and making our exclusive content more accessible across various platforms allows viewers to interact with NBC programming at their convenience,” Langley explained. “This results in numerous opportunities for shared experiences, often leading to viewers watching, and even re-watching, episodes, highlights, and snippets.

Additionally, it was a courteous acknowledgment towards the ship’s captain. For Langley, one of the most memorable aspects of the SNL50 event was the vibrant atmosphere that permeated throughout the weekend near 30 Rock – witnessing people unite to honor Lorne and this legendary establishment he built.

Brian Roberts, as chairman and CEO of Comcast (the parent company of NBCU), underscored the significance and enduring impact that “Saturday Night Live” has had on American culture, highlighting its long-lasting relevance.

Roberts stated to EbMaster, “Expressing the influence Lorne Michaels and ‘Saturday Night Live’ have exerted over the past fifty years is quite challenging. ‘SNL’ shattered conventions, propelled many careers into stardom, and cemented itself as a legendary fixture in television lore – it’s like a time capsule that has left an indelible mark, reflecting our culture’s essence for decades.

The chance to unite a large viewership – encompassing both immediate audiences and those who consume content later – with SNL50 was substantial due to the show’s massive presence across key social media platforms (YouTube: 15.5 million subscribers; TikTok: 11.2 million; Instagram: 8.6 million). The topical nature of the show consistently generates a wave of social interaction and discussion with each new episode. Despite the growth in television, Lorne Michaels and his team are the only performers regularly delivering live sketch comedy on a near weekly basis during the traditional September-May TV season.

Mark Marshall, NBCUniversal’s chairman of global advertising and partnerships, stated to EbMaster, “We heavily relied on the concept that ‘SNL’ is currently the epitome of intellectual property for how audiences perceive content. There isn’t another asset that resembles ‘SNL.’ Despite being 50 years old, it is more pertinent today than when it first aired in 1975.

The collaboration between NBCUniversal and Comcast for SNL50’s company-wide activity reached Olympic-like synchronization in terms of organization. One key insight NBCU gained from recent Olympic broadcasts is the significance of emphasizing the ‘tune-in’ message in the last few days before an event. While raising awareness through a long promotional campaign is important, it doesn’t guarantee viewers will tune in at the scheduled time.

(Note: “tune-in” refers to encouraging people to watch a specific television program or event.)

Marshall stated that it’s crucial to locate individuals specifically in the immediate run-up to the event itself. Although there has been a consistent emphasis in the six months preceding it, it’s the intense search for people within a narrow timeframe just before the event that truly matters.

The negotiations for SNL’s 50th anniversary special began in earnest two years ago following NBCUniversal’s hint at their spring upfront that “SNL” would have a grand 50th anniversary celebration. These deals encompassed premium advertising agreements for the show throughout the 2024-25 season, a four-day immersive event at 30 Rock (experience what it’s like to host SNL!), and the Questlove-produced documentary “Ladies and Gentlemen: 50 Years of SNL Music,” which premiered on January 27th on NBC and Peacock.

To find suitable sponsorship partners for “SNL,” a thoughtful selection process was necessary. Not every company aligned well with the “SNL” identity, and some were hesitant to let “SNL” writers control their advertisements. Ultimately, NBCU established long-term partnerships with five main sponsors: Allstate, Capital One, L’Oréal Group, T-Mobile, and Volkswagen of America.

Marshall explained that it was a two-year long adventure. He acknowledged Lorne and the show for being outstanding collaborators. They were instrumental in finding the perfect fit for our advertising partners, ensuring their messaging matched the distinctive style of the custom content we produced. Our goal was to make it seem as if the brand’s message originated from within the show itself, rather than the other way around.

The triumph of “SNL50” has strengthened NBCU’s belief in the ability of live events to boost various sectors. Although “SNL50” had an exceptional lineup of celebrities and a wave of multi-generational nostalgia, there are other promising prospects ahead, as mentioned by Marshall.

It seems that live entertainment is currently receiving less recognition than it deserves in the marketing world,” he noted, pointing out the increased interest in NBC’s live programs like “Today”, “The Tonight Show”, and “The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade”. “There’s a growing trend among marketers who require widespread visibility before an event. We’re observing a resurgence of marketing strategies that focus on the concept of, ‘I need to reach someone on Tuesday so they can appear on Thursday for a movie premiere or similar occasion’,” he added.

50 episodes of SNL significantly impacted various NBC Universal properties. Content shared on key social platforms (YouTube, Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok) from Feb. 14 to Feb. 17 amassed over 750 million video views across nine NBCU brands (SNL, Peacock, NBC, E! News, E! Insider, E! Entertainment, “Today”, “Access Hollywood”, and “The Kelly Clarkson Show”). Clips of the show were widely disseminated on social media, both authorized and unauthorized. However, SNL-related advertising space does not have the same reach.

Over the years, we’ve made a point of ensuring that control over this particular property remains with us, as its importance cannot be overstated. You won’t find [‘SNL’] available for purchase anywhere else, whether it’s in traditional formats like linear or digital media, or social platforms.

Among other fun facts and figures about SNL50 shared by NBC:

Viewers from the latest generation (Gen Z) have increased their engagement with “SNL”-related content by approximately 8% compared to a decade prior.

Attendees at the February 14th Radio City concert were celebrities such as Al Franken, Caroline Kennedy, Claire Danes, Dakota Johnson, David Harbour, Diane Sawyer, Jonathan Scott, and Zoey Deschanel.

As a cinephile, I was thrilled to revisit NBC’s February 15th broadcast of the inaugural “SNL” episode starring the legendary George Carlin, which originally aired on October 11, 1975. Amazingly, this rerun managed to captivate an impressive audience of 3.7 million viewers!

Around 200 additional seats were put into “SNL’s” theater at Studio 8H inside 30 Rock, making room for the stellar audience attending the February 16th anniversary special. This brought the overall seating capacity to 452.

** Approximately 2,500 cue cards were used in the three and a half hour show.

All cast members of Saturday Night Live (SNL) throughout the 50 seasons were there – even Don Novello, who is known as Father Guido Sarducci.

Notable personalities graced the audience on February 16th at our special event: Bobby Flay, Catherine Oxenberg, Christine Baranski, Edie Falco, Elliott Gould, the band Hanson, Meg Ryan, Sandra Oh, Sean Evans, Steve Guttenberg, Susan Lucci, Teri Hatcher, Theo Vonn, and Ziwe.

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Here’s a bonus look at vintage “Saturday Night Live” advertisements from the pages of EbMaster

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2025-02-23 19:18