NBC’s Meet the Press moved back to No. 1 on Sunday, after a brief stint as the 2nd-most-watched Sunday public affairs program.
The Chuck Todd-moderated program brought in 3.36 million total viewers, +9% more total viewers than ABC’s This Week, and +3% more than CBS’ Face the Nation.
MTP, which was the No. 1 Sunday show in 2019, also won in the key A25-54 demo by a commanding margin, topping ABC by +29% (,000) and CBS by +17%
An additional 629,000 total viewers and 89,000 A25-54 viewers watched the Sunday program through rebroadcasts on NBC and MSNBC.
CBS Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan was the 2nd-most-watched Sunday show among total viewers and the A25-54 set, while ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos took 3rd place in both categories.
Despite the 3rd place finish, This Week hit a 2019-2020 broadcast season high in total viewers and earned its largest audience since its Feb. 17, 2019 broadcast.
The Jan. 12 edition of Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace on Fox averaged 1.33 million total viewers and 375,000 A25-54 viewers. The trio of cable replays delivered 2.53 million total viewers and 382,000 A25-54 viewers. Altogether, that’s roughly 3.86 million total viewers and 757,000 A25-54 viewers on Jan. 12.
When compared to the same Sunday in 2019, all 4 shows were significantly down. ABC was -7% in total viewers and -26% among adults 25-54. CBS was -14% in total viewers and -12% among adults 25-54. NBC, despite being No. 1, was -20% in total viewers and -27% among adults 25-54.
FNS was -25% in total viewers and -30% in A25-54 viewers vs. the comparable broadcast last year.
The numbers for Jan. 12, 2020:
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBC | Meet the Press | 3,362,000 | 811,000 |
| CBS | Face the Nation (1/2 hr) | 3,256,000 | 691,000 |
| ABC |
This Week | 3,091,000 | 629,000 |
| FOX | Fox News Sunday | 1,328,000 | 375,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI (Total Viewers and Adults 25-54); Live + SD for 1/12/20, and 1/13/19 or as dated. Most Current: 2019 -2020 Season (9/23/19 – 1/12/20) and 2018 -2019 Season (9/24/19 – 1/13/19). Averages based on regular telecasts.