At ‘Face the Nation,’ Dickerson Will Get Assist from ‘CBS Sunday Morning’

By Mark Joyella 

When John Dickerson takes over for Bob Schieffer at “Face the Nation” this summer, he inherits a plum assignment–and a huge responsibility. Heading into the 2016 election, “Face the Nation” is on top, and CBS wants it to stay that way.

On April 5, just before Schieffer announced his retirement, “Face the Nation” posted impressive numbers: beating ABC’s “This Week” and NBC’s “Meet the Press” among total viewers (3.11 million) and in the demo, and showing a +7% rise from the same week a year ago.

Many have credited Schieffer with driving the show’s success, but a review of Nielsen data shows Schieffer gets a running start each Sunday, thanks to the ratings power of “CBS Sunday Morning.” The Charles Osgood-led institution had its best quarter in at least 28 years in Q1 2015–with an average total audience of 6.21 million viewers.

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That translates into a strong lead-in for “Face the Nation” in most markets, which regularly starts its broadcast with a million more viewers than NBC’s “Meet the Press,” which climbed to number two in the first quarter after a run of six consecutive quarters in third place. For a show with a total average audience of about 3 million, a one million viewer head-start is significant.

Another advantage that Dickerson can count on is the way “Face the Nation” is rated. Because the full contiguous hour of “FTN” airs in just  76 percent of the country, CBS cites only the first half hour publicly. If it were based on the full hour, using April 5 as an example, “FTN” would fall to second place in viewers and third in the A25-54 demo. But until distribution is closer to 100 percent, it is an unfair comparison.

No doubt, Dickerson inherits a front row seat to history. The challenge will be to stay in front, in the ratings.

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