The second quarter of 2021 delivered a surprise result in the Sunday public affairs show ratings race.
ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos finished No. 1 in the second quarter among adults 25-54 (549,000), breaking Meet the Press’ streak of 21 consecutive quarters at No. 1 in this key measurement. The Q2 ’21 win in the demo represents the first victory for ABC’s Sunday show during any quarter in more than 5 years – since Q4 ’15.
CBS’ Face the Nation finished Q2 as the most-watched Sunday public affairs program, averaging nearly 3 million per original broadcast. That’s now four consecutive quarters that FTN has averaged more total viewers than the competition. However, CBS’ Sunday offering finished behind ABC and NBC in the key adults 25-54 demo.
John Dickerson filled in for Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation in Q2. She has been out on maternity leave.
NBC’s Meet the Press with Chuck Todd lost its hold on the key demo, finishing third in a measurement it has dominated in recent years. It finished second in total viewers behind CBS and ahead of ABC. On a more positive note for Meet the Press, it remains the go-to Sunday show in the influential Washington D.C. market.
Fox News Sunday with anchor Chris Wallace averaged 1.05 million total viewers and 261,000 from the key A25-54 demo on Fox Broadcasting in Q2. The cable replays averaged 1.08 million total viewers and 196,000 viewers from the demo. Combined, that’s around 2.1 million total viewers and 457,000 A25-54 demo viewers.
Compared Q1 of 2021, Meet the Press lost -26% of its average total audience, and -31% of its key A25-54 audience. Face the Nation lost -27% of its average total audience, and -25% of its demo audience. This Week shed -20% of its average total viewers and fell -21% in the demo from Q1. Fox News Sunday shed -18% of its average total audience and -20% of its A25-54 audience from Q1.
Relative to the year-ago quarter (Q2 ’20), which featured tons of political news, Meet the Press dropped -21% of its average total audience and a whopping -41% of its A25-54 audience. Face the Nation fell by -21% in average total viewers and -33% in the demo. This Week lost -19% of its average total audience and -25% in the demo. Fox News Sunday lost -31% of its average total audience and -38% of its A25-54 audience from Q2 of last year.
Q2 2021 Sunday Public Affairs Show Ratings:
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBS | Face the Nation (1/2 hr) | 2,967,000 | 517,000 |
| NBC | Meet the Press | 2,666,000 | 541,000 |
| ABC | This Week | 2,635,000 | 549,000 |
| Fox | Fox News Sunday | 1,049,000 | 261,000 |
Additionally, the Sunday show ratings for this past Sunday, June 27 show ABC’s Sunday offering as having dominated in the demo, and Face the Nation earning the largest total audience.
Week of June 27, 2021 Sunday Public Affairs Show Ratings:
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBS | Face the Nation (1/2 hr) | 2,811,000 | 457,000 |
| ABC | This Week | 2,611,000 | 625,000 |
| NBC | Meet the Press | 2,487,000 | 480,000 |
| Fox | Fox News Sunday | 989,000 | 243,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI (Total Viewers and Adults 25-54); Live + SD for 6/27/21, 6/20/21 and 6/28/20 or as dated. Most Current: 2020 -2021 Season (9/21/20 – 6/27/21) and 2019 -2020 Season (9/23/19 – 6/28/20). Live+7/Most Current – 2Q21: 3/29 – 6/27/21, – 2Q20: 3/30 – 6/28/20 and 1Q20: 12/28/20 – 3/28/20. *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.