Baby boomers
Debuting on October 11, 1975, the show quickly developed a cult following, eventually becoming a mainstream hit and spawning (in 1978) "Best of "Saturday Night Live"" compilations that reached viewers who could not stay awake for the live broadcasts. But during the first season in 1975 and 1976, some NBC executives were not satisfied with the show's Nielsen ratings and shares. Lorne Michaels pointed out to them that Nielsen's measurement of demographics indicated that baby boomers constituted a large majority of the viewers who did commit to watching the show, and many of them watched little else on television. In 1975 and 1976, they were the most desirable demographic for television advertisers, even though Generation X was the right age for commercials for toys and other children's products. Baby boomers far outnumbered Generation X in reality but not in television viewership with the exception of Michaels's new show and major league sports, and advertisers had long been concerned about baby boomers' distaste for the powerful medium. NBC executives eventually understood Michaels's explanation of the desirable demographics and they decided to keep the show on the air despite many angry letters and phone calls the network received from viewers who were offended by certain sketches.