NBC’s Meet the Press with Chuck Todd was the No. 1 Sunday show on Aug. 18. Averaging 2.86 million total viewers, MTP topped both ABC’s This Week and CBS’ Face the Nation by double-digits, beating ABC by +17% (+407,000) and CBS by +13% (+327,000). This marks the MTP’s 55th straight win over ABC in total viewers.
MTP also won in the advertiser-friendly A25-54 demo, topping rivals ABC and CBS by double-digits percent, +11% more than ABC and +23% (+124,000) more than CBS.
An additional 751,000 total viewers and 152,000 A25-54 viewers watched the Sunday program through rebroadcasts on NBC and MSNBC.
CBS’ Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan finished Aug. 18 as the second-most-watched Sunday politics program, and No. 3 among adults 25-54.
ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos finished No. 2 among adults 25-54 this past Sunday, beating beating Face the Nation in the key adult news demo for the 4th week in a row and in 8 of the last 9 weeks overall.
This Week was also the only public affairs program to post year-to-year gains in the key demo.
With Dana Perino subbing in for Chris Wallace, Fox News Sunday delivered a combined 3.44 million total viewers and 673,000 A25-54 viewers across four telecasts. To break it down, the first-run broadcast on the Fox network delivered 1.08 million total viewers and 298,000 demo viewers. The trio of cable replays delivered a combined 2.35 million total viewers and 375,000 demo viewers.
Compared with the same Sunday in 2018, NBC was -18% in total viewers, ABC was -5%, and Fox was -14%. In the A25-54 demo, NBC was -25%, ABC was +1%, and Fox was -22%.
CBS re-titled the comparable 2018 broadcast of Face the Nation, so a year-over-year ratings comparison cannot be made. The Aug. 19 2018 broadcast of MTP was one of its top rated of the year, and featured former New York City mayor/Pres. Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani uttering the now infamous “truth isn’t truth” line.
The Nielsen viewership numbers for Aug. 18, 2019:
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBC |
Meet the Press | 2,860,000 | 671,000 |
| CBS | Face the Nation (1/2 hr) | 2,533,000 | 547,000 |
| ABC | This Week | 2,453,000 | 606,000 |
| FOX | Fox News Sunday | 1,082,000 | 298,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI (Total Viewers and Adults 25-54); Live + SD for 8/18/19, and 8/19/18 or as dated. Season to date: Most Current: 2018 -2019 Season (9/24/18 – 8/18/19) and 2017-2018 Season (9/25/17 – 8/19/18). Averages based on regular telecasts.