CBS Face the Nation and NBC’s Meet the Press split first place in the Sunday show ratings race on June 20, 2021.
Face the Nation continued to average the most total viewers of any Sunday public affairs show, drawing an average of nearly 2.5 million total viewers this past Sunday. However, the drew 479,000 adults 25-54, which is fewer than NBC’s Sunday morning politics offering. Margaret Brennan anchored 63% of the broadcasts in 2020-’21, with John Dickerson anchoring most of the others.
Face the Nation continues to average the largest total audience of any Sunday public affairs show, season to-date.
Speaking of NBC, Meet the Press with Chuck Todd returned to the top spot in the Sunday show genre among adults 25-54, averaging 484,000 viewers from the measurement. The broadcast finished No. 3 in average total viewers (2.32 million), however, behind CBS and ABC.
An additional 198,000 total viewers and 53,000 A25-54 viewers watched the Sunday program through a re-run on NBC.
This Week with George Stephanopoulos finished in second place in total viewers (2.45 million) but fell to 3rd among adults 25-54 (469,000). That said, the ABC Sunday public affairs show is leading its CBS competitor in Adults 25-54 (+5,000) season to-date. The show is also in the midst of its most-watched season in four years – since the 2016-17 season (3.46 million viewers).
Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace averaged 915,000 total viewers and 201,000 A25-54 viewers on Fox Broadcasting. The cable replays delivered a combined 1.08 million total viewers and 229,000 A25-54 viewers. Altogether, that’s nearly 2 million total and 430,000 A25-54 demo viewers watching Fox News Sunday on June 20.
Compared to the prior Sunday, Face the Nation fell -11% in total viewers, while This Week grew by +5% and Fox News Sunday shed -11%. Meet the Press was pre-empted by the French Open the previous Sunday.
When it comes to adults 25-54, Face the Nation grew by +7% from the prior Sunday, while This Week shed -4% of its demo audience. Fox News Sunday was again -11% week-to-week.
June 20, 2021 Sunday Show Ratings (Nielsen live + same-day):
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBS | Face the Nation (1/2 hr) | 2,481,000 | 479,000 |
| ABC | This Week | 2,448,000 | 469,000 |
| NBC | Meet the Press | 2,324,000 | 484,000 |
| FOX | Fox News Sunday | 915,000 | 201,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI (Total Viewers and Adults 25-54); Live + SD for 6/20/21, 6/13/21 and 6/21/20 or as dated. Most Current: 2020 -2021 Season (9/21/20 – 6/20/21) and 2019 -2020 Season (9/23/19 – 6/21/20). *Beginning 8/31/20, National ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Prior to 8/31/20, ratings do not include OOH viewing. Nielsen ratings for “This Week” include additional airings in select markets. Averages based on regular telecasts.