Sunday Show Ratings: Amanpour Debuts #2 in Demo, #3 in Total Viewers

Christiane Amanpour’s debut on ABC’s “This Week” finished second in the demo behind NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, but third in total viewers behind CBS’ “Face the Nation.” 2.25 million viewers tuned in for her first broadcast, though that might not include you if you tried to Tivo it.

In comparison to last week — Jake Tapper’s final broadcast as interim host — ABC grew in total viewers (+7%) and the demo (+18%). Compared to the same week last year when George Stephanopoulos was still the host, the program was down -550,000 total viewers and -180,000 in the demo. (Interestingly, ABC topped the four Sunday Shows for just the first time in a decade exactly one year ago.)

While finishing in the middle of the pack wouldn’t constitute a splashy start, ABC is outwardly comfortable. “We are very pleased with the broadcast on Sunday, and we’re exactly where we thought we’d be,” “This Week” EP Ian Cameron said when we reported the early Fast Nationals numbers. “It’s been a solid start all around.”

Compared to last week, NBC and FOX grew while CBS dropped, particularly in the demo. All three programs were up year-to-year.

Cable and network rebroadcasts of “MTP” drew an additional 916,000 viewers. “Fox News Sunday” drew an additional 1,794,000 total viewers on cable replays.