The protests over police brutality and the murder of George Floyd appeared to calm down a bit over the weekend, and interest in watching the Sunday shows reflected that. The programs posted impressive numbers on May 31, but each shed a substantial percentage of viewers on June 7.
CBS beat the competition in Total Viewers, while NBC remained at the top of the class in A25-54 viewers.
The half-hour edition of Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan averaged the most viewers, 3.24 million, to go with 548,000 A25-54 viewers on June 7. However, the broadcast finished in third place in the aforementioned demo behind NBC and ABC. Face the Nation’s second half-hour was broadcast contiguously by CBS affiliates reaching 91.03% of U.S. television households.
Meet the Press with Chuck Todd finished No. 1 in the key A25-54 demo, as it consistently is, topping both ABC and CBS by double-digits. 691,000 A25-54 key demo viewers tuned into the Sunday program: +12% (+72,000) more than ABC’s This Week and +26% (+143,000) more than Face the Nation. MTP averaged 3.12 million total viewers: +9% (+271,000) more than This Week.
Additionally, 211,000 total viewers watched Meet the Press through a rebroadcast on NBC.
This Week with George Stephanopoulos averaged 2.85 million Viewers and 619,000 A25-54. The ABC Sunday show beat its CBS competitor in the demo for the second week in a row with its largest lead (+71,000) in over three months—since March 1.
This Week also posted year-over-year gains for the fourth consecutive Sunday, both in Total Viewers and in Adults 25-54.
The Fox TV edition of Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace delivered 1.27 million total viewers and 342,000 A25-54 viewers. The cable replays combined for 3.26 million total viewers and 618,000 A25-54 viewers. Altogether, that’s roughly 4.53 million total viewers and 960,000 A25-54 viewers on June 7.
As previously mentioned, all of the shows were down from the previous Sunday (May 31). Face the Nation was -4% in Total Viewers and a whopping -29% in the demo. Meet the Press was -15% in Total Viewers and -26% in the demo. This Week was -15% in Total Viewers and -24% in the demo, while Fox News Sunday was -20% in Total Viewers and -26% n the demo.
Compared with the same Sunday in 2019 (June 9), numbers were more favorable. FTN was +17% in Total Viewers and +20% in the demo. This Week was +21% in Total Viewers and +3% in the demo. Fox News Sunday was +10% in Total Viewers and +108% in the demo (Chris Wallace had been off that Sunday in 2019). MTP was preempted on that Sunday due to the French Open Final.
The June 7 Nielsen numbers for the first-run broadcasts:
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBS | Face the Nation (1/2 hr) | 3,244,000 | 548,000 |
| NBC | Meet the Press | 3,144,000 | 691,000 |
| ABC | This Week | 2,854,000 | 619,000 |
| FOX | Fox News Sunday | 1,272,000 | 342,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI (Total Viewers and Adults 25-54); Live + SD for 6/7/20, 5/31/20 and 6/9/19 or as dated. Most Current: 2019 -2020 Season (9/23/19 – 6/7/20) and 2018 -2019 Season (9/24/19 – 6/9/19). Averages based on regular telecasts.