After 66 consecutive Nielsen-rated broadcasts, the streak is over.
On June 2, ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos edged NBC’s Meet the Press with Chuck Todd in the key adults 25-54 demographic.
The ABC Sunday show finished No. 1 among Sunday public affairs programming in the advertiser-friendly demo, out-performing MTP by +11,000 viewers and CBS’ Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan by +59,000 viewers in the category.
However, the aforementioned Meet the Press was able to maintain its status as the most-watched Sunday public affairs show in total viewers, beating Face the Nation by +5%, and This Week by +9%. This marks MTP’s 22nd win over CBS out of the past 23 broadcasts, and its 47th straight win over ABC in total viewers.
An additional 909,000 total viewers and 177,000 A25-54 viewers watched repeats of the first-run broadcast on NBC and MSNBC.
It’s also worth noting that MTP’s regularly scheduled times were shifted in five major markets across the country, including New York, Philadelphia and Boston, something that may have skewed ratings.
Nevertheless, a win is a win, and This Week earned a rare one.
Fox News Sunday hosted by Chris Wallace delivered 1.18 million total viewers and 297,000 A25-54 demo viewers on the Fox network. The 2 p.m. and 2 a.m. replays delivered a combined 1.23 million total viewers and 187,000 A25-54 viewers. Altogether, that’s roughly 2.41 million total viewers and 484,000 demo viewers.
FNC presented a town hall with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in the 7 p.m. hour, in place of a Fox News Sunday repeat.
When compared to the same Sunday in 2018. NBC was -6% in total viewers, CBS was -2% in total viewers, ABC was -2%, and Fox was -1%. In the A25-54 demo, NBC was -29%, CBS was -6%, ABC was -12%, and Fox was -18% vs. the comparable Sunday last year.
Here are the numbers for June 2, 2019:
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBC | Meet the Press | 2,823,000 | 573,000 |
| CBS | Face the Nation (1/2 hr) | 2,682,000 | 525,000 |
| ABC | This Week | 2,586,000 | 584,000 |
| FOX | Fox News Sunday | 1,180,000 | 297,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI (Total Viewers and Adults 25-54); Live + SD for 6/2/19, and 6/3/18 or as dated. Season to date: Most Current: 2018 -2019 Season (9/24/18 – 6/2/19) and 2017-2018 Season (9/25/17 – 6/3/18). Averages based on regular telecasts.