There was A LOT to talk about over the weekend when it came to politics, and the Sunday shows benefited from a ratings standpoint.
NBC’s Meet the Press with Chuck Todd extended its ratings winning streak to 5 straight weeks at No. 1 among all Sunday public affairs shows.
Per Nielsen data, MTP averaged 3.49 million total viewers, +9 percent from the comparable Sunday last year, +17 percent more than ABC and +12 percent and more than CBS, and 843,000 A25-54 viewers, which is +25 percent more than ABC and +27 percent more than CBS.
CBS’ Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan remained No. 2 in total viewers this past week, but slipped to No. 3 among Adults 25-54.
ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos outperformed Face the Nation by 10,000 A25-54 demo viewers this past week, after what had been a relatively lengthy stint stuck in 3rd place in that measurement.
The ABC News Sunday show was up from the year-ago Sunday in total viewers, +5 percent.
Fox News Sunday hosted by Chris Wallace delivered more than 1.34 million total viewers and 367,000 A25-54 viewers on the Fox Network. The show’s trio of cable replays delivered a combined 1.71 million total viewers and 249,000 demo viewers. Combined with the first-run broadcast, that’s roughly 3,05 million total viewers and 616,000 A25-54 viewers tuning into Fox News Sunday on Dec. 23.
*Editor’s note: NBC and CBS were re-titled this week and their respective Sunday show telecasts won’t be included in the season average.
The numbers for December 23:
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBC | Meet the Press | 3,492,000 | 843,000 |
| CBS | Face the Nation (1/2 hr) | 3,108,000 | 663,000 |
| ABC | This Week | 2,975,000 | 673,000 |
| FOX | Fox News Sunday | 1,342,000 | 367,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI (Total Viewers and Adults 25-54); Live + SD for 12/23/18, 12/16/18 and 12/24/17 or as dated. Most Current: 2018 -2019 Season (9/24 – 12/23/18) and 2017-2018 Season (9/25 – 12/24/17). Averages based on regular telecasts.