Saturday TV Ratings 4/4/26: Saturday Night Live Rises As Jack Black Joins Five-Timers Club, The Ten Commandments Up From 2025, College Basketball Tournament Final Four Heavily Down From 2025 CBS Airing

Key Takeaways

• SNL 11:30 PM: 0.76 rating, 4.5 M viewers, up week‑over‑week
• Ten Commandments on ABC rose to 3.06 M viewers, 0.26 rating
• NCAA Final Four on TBS/TNT drew 13.5 M viewers, down from 2025
• MLB regional coverage led primetime with 1.45 M viewers on Fox
• Cable soft‑ball and news shows each stayed under 1 M viewers

Pulse Analysis

Saturday night TV ratings remain a barometer for network health, and the April 4, 2026 data illustrate divergent trends. NBC’s Saturday Night Live, long a cultural touchstone, posted a 0.76 rating and 4.5 million viewers in its late‑night slot, marking a notable rebound after a dip earlier in the season. Meanwhile, ABC’s biblical drama The Ten Commandments saw modest gains, reaching a 0.26 rating and over three million viewers, suggesting that niche scripted fare can still capture audience attention when scheduled against less competitive competition.

The night’s biggest draw came from cable sports, with the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four attracting a combined 13.5 million viewers across TBS and TNT. Although the audience size trails the 2025 CBS broadcast, the performance highlights cable’s increasing role in delivering premium live events. MLB regional coverage also held steady, leading primetime with 1.45 million viewers on Fox, reinforcing the enduring appeal of live baseball. Conversely, lower‑profile cable offerings such as college softball, news commentary, and niche reality shows struggled to break the one‑million viewer threshold, underscoring the challenges faced by non‑sports, non‑scripted programming in a fragmented media landscape.

For advertisers and network executives, these numbers signal a strategic pivot. Live sports continue to command premium ad dollars, especially on cable platforms that can offer targeted demographics. At the same time, a resurgence in flagship comedy like SNL provides an alternative high‑engagement inventory for brands seeking younger, culturally attuned audiences. Networks will likely double down on event‑driven scheduling while experimenting with cross‑platform promotions to maximize reach as viewership habits evolve.