According to the most current data from Nielsen, NBC’s Meet the Press with Chuck Todd was the No. 1 Sunday show on July 12, topping ABC, CBS and Fox in Total Viewers and beating each network by double-digit percentages in the A25-54 demo.
MTP averaged 3.77 million Total Viewers on Sunday. That figure is +14% (+399,000) more than ABC’s This Week but only +2% (+69,000) more than CBS’ Face the Nation.
Among the A25-54 demo, the money-making category, MTP won by a more comfortable margin. The first-run broadcast averaged 701,000 viewers, +28% (+153,000) more than This Week and +19% (+112,000) more than Face the Nation. Meet the Press has averaged more demo viewers than the competition for 20 consecutive weeks.
Additionally, 1.21 million Total Viewers and 218,000 A25-54 viewers watched MTP through rebroadcasts on NBC and MSNBC.
The half-hour edition of CBS’ Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan came in at No. 2 this past Sunday, both in terms of average Total Viewers and in the key A25-54 demo. CBS’ Sunday public affairs show averaged 3.10 million Total Viewers and 589,000 A25-54 viewers.
ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos averaged 2.77 million Total Viewers and 547,000 A25-54, No. 3 behind NBC and CBS. This Week nearly pulled off a rare win over NBC in the demo the prior Sunday (July 5 — 608,000 versus 615,000), but it was not to be.
The Fox network broadcast of Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace delivered 1.15 million Total Viewers and 333,000 A25-54 viewers. The cable replays combined for 2.76 million Total Viewers and 505,000 A25-54 viewers. With the original broadcast, that’s roughly 3.91 million Total Viewers and 838,000 A25-54 viewers on July 12.
As expected, the Sunday shows performed relatively compared to the prior Sunday (a holiday weekend). Meet the Press was +1% Total Viewers and an impressive +14% in the demo. Face the Nation was -3% in Total Viewers but flat in the demo. This Week was flat in Total Viewers but a whopping -10% in the demo, while the first-run edition of Fox News was +5% in Total Viewers and an impressive +11% in the demo.
Compared with the same Sunday in 2019 (July 14), numbers remained pretty strong. MTP was +12% in Total Viewers and held flat in the demo. FTN was +15% in Total Viewers and +4% in the demo. This Week was +10% in Total Viewers but -4% in the demo. Fox News Sunday was-4 % in Total Viewers but +6% in the demo.
It is worth noting that both ABC and CBS retitled these particular broadcasts and the ratings don’t count toward each show’s season averages. NBC and Fox, on the other hand, counted their respective broadcasts.
July 12, 2020 Sunday Public Affairs Show Ratings:
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBC | Meet the Press | 3,171,000 | 701,000 |
| CBS | Face the Nation (1/2 hr) | 3,101,000 | 589,000 |
| ABC | This Week | 2,771,000 | 547,000 |
| FOX | Fox News Sunday | 1,154,000 | 333,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI (Total Viewers and Adults 25-54); Live + SD for 7/12/20, 7/5/20 and 7/14/19 or as dated. Most Current: 2019 -2020 Season (9/23/19 – 7/12/20) and 2018 -2019 Season (9/24/19 – 7/14/19). Live+7/Most Current. Averages based on regular telecasts.