It was a strong week for the Sunday public affairs shows. CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, and Univision each delivered year-over-year gains in total audience and the ad-friendly 25-54 demographic on presidential debate day.
Meet the Press with Chuck Todd delivered over 4 million viewers on Oct. 9, which is the best total audience average out of all Sunday public affairs programs since March 6, 2016. The program improved 41.5 percent in total viewers and +104 percent in the news demo from the same Sunday in 2015. The 1.42 million Adults 25-54 is the largest number for MTP since 2012. An additional 1.13 million viewers watched the cable replay on MSNBC. The program featured an interviews with Rudy Giuliani, Nancy Pelosi and Utah senator Mike Lee.
This Week with George Stephanopoulos finished No. 3 in total viewers and No. 2 in the key news demo. ABC’s Sunday public affairs show delivered double-digit year-over-year gains in both total viewers (+31.5 percent) and the key news demo (+15 percent), eclipsing 1 million viewers in the latter category. Season to-date, This Week is up 14 percent in total viewers from the same point last year.
Face the Nation with John Dickerson ranked No. 2 in total viewers and No. 3 in the key news demo this past Sunday. CBS’ Sunday public affairs show grew just 1 percent in total viewers, but delivered a 23 percent increase in A25-54 compared to the same Sunday in 2015. Giuliani and Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook appeared on the program.
Fox News Sunday delivered strong year-over-year improvement as well, up 26 percent in total viewers and +28 percent in the news demo from the same Sunday in 2015. FNC only aired one repeat on Sunday (2 p.m. ET), which delivered 1.16 million viewers, 232,000 from the news demo. Altogether, Fox News Sunday delivered 2.7 million viewers and 746,000 from the demo.
Sunday’s episode of Al Punto delivered year-over-year audience gains not just in the A25-54 news demo (+19 percent), but also among Adults 18-49 (+49 percent) and Adults 18-34 (+67 percent). Season to-date, Al Punto is up 26 percent in the millennial demo from the same point last year.
*Editor’s note: Orlando, Norfolk, Raleigh-Durham and Jacksonville markets were excluded by Nielsen due to conditions caused by severe weather. The program has only been rated twice this broadcast season to-date.
The numbers for Oct. 9:
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBS | Face the Nation | 3.82 M | 1.03 M |
| NBC | Meet the Press | 4.02 M | 1.42 M |
| ABC | This Week | 3.69 M | 1.09 M |
| FOX | Fox News Sunday | 1.55 M | 514,000 |
| UNIV | Al Punto | 851,000 | 358,000 |