NBC’s “Meet the Press” won the month of May for its 45th consecutive sweep victory, however the show lost nearly a quarter of its audience from last year.
“Meet the Press” dropped 23% in Total Viewers and 24% in the A25-54 demo from May 2008, posting its lowest Total Viewer average for a May sweep since 1993, which was also a post-Presidential election ratings month. ABC’s “This Week” and CBS’ “Face the Nation” were both up 3% in Total Viewers compared to last year, while FOX News Sunday was down 11%.
This was “This Week”‘s best May sweep since 1999.
Week-to-week, NBC, ABC and FOX grew in both Total Viewers and the demo while CBS declined.
May 17:
Total Viewers: NBC: 3,280,000 / ABC: 2,800,000 / CBS: 2,140,000 / FOX: 1,330,000
25-54 demo: NBC: 1,180,000 / ABC: 980,000 / CBS: 740,000 / FOX: 530,000
May 2009:
Total Viewers: NBC: 3,190,000 / ABC: 2,720,000 / ABC: 2,550,000 / FOX: 1,260,000
25-54 demo: NBC: 1,140,000 / ABC: 900,000 / CBS: 880,000 / FOX: 490,000