Meet the Press on NBC has wrapped up yet another quarter as the No.1 Sunday public affairs program.
Averaging 3.86 million Total Viewers and 913,000 Adults 25-54 in Q2 2020, the NBC program marked its 10th consecutive quarter at No. 1 in both measurements.
The Chuck Todd-moderated program also earned its 18th consecutive quarter win exclusively in the key A25-54 demo.
The 3.86 million figure represents MTP’s best quarterly total viewers delivery in over three years (since Q1’17) and best second-quarter delivery in 12 years (since 2008).
CBS’ Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan took second place in the key Sunday show measurements of Total Viewers (3.78 million) and Adults 25-54 (770,000). The CBS public affairs program also managed to snag the largest total audience on the final Sunday of the quarter, June 28, delivering 3.3 million viewers. Face the Nation maintained a stranglehold on the No. 2 spot in Total Viewers this past quarter, but moved past ABC in the key A25-54 demo.
Speaking of ABC, This Week with George Stephanopoulos built on its total audience from the previous quarter, delivering its most-watched quarter in more than three years (3.24 million) and its largest Q2 audience since 1997! However, ABC’s Sunday public affairs program dropped to third place in the key demo, after finishing No. 2 in the measurement during Q1.
Fox News Sunday with anchor Chris Wallace averaged 1.52 million total viewers and 420,000 in the key demo. For the quarter, FNS’ combined average was 4.98 million Total Viewers and 1.07 million Adults 25-54, including the cable replays.
Compared to the first quarter in 2020, each show saw growth in Total Viewers. Meet the Press was +7%. Face the Nation was +8%. This Week was +4% and Fox News Sunday was +6%. NBC, CBS and Fox showed growth in the demo, +1%, +4% and +1%, respectively. ABC was -3% in the demo.
Compared to Q2 of 2019, the shows compared even more favorably. Needless to say, all four had a lot of material to work with. Meet the Press was 24+% in Total Viewers and +25% in the demo. Face the Nation was +34% in Total Viewers, +33% in the demo. This Week also posted year-over-year growth in multiple measurements: +26% in Total Viewers and +20% in the demo. Fox News Sunday was +24% in Total Viewers and +25% in the demo versus Q2 2019.
Q2 2020 Sunday Public Affairs Show Ratings:
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBC | Meet the Press | 3,863,000 | 913,000 |
| CBS | Face the Nation (1/2 hr) | 3,779,000 | 770,000 |
| ABC | This Week | 3,243,000 | 730,000 |
| FOX | Fox News Sunday | 1,524,000 | 420,000 |
Source:The Nielsen Company, NTI (Total Viewers and Adults 25-54); Live+7/Most Current – 2Q20: 3/30 – 6/28/20, – 1Q20: 12/30/19-3/29 – 2Q19: 4/1 – 6/30/19 Averages based on regular telecasts.