NBC drew another No. 1 finish in the Sunday politics ratings race. For the 43rd consecutive broadcast, Meet the Press with Chuck Todd topped the competition in the key A25-54 category, beating ABC by +23 percent (+153,000) and CBS by +18 percent (+126,000), according to Nielsen data.
The program drew nearly 3.42 million total viewers, leading both ABC and CBS by double-digits: ABC by +14 percent (+419,000) and CBS by +10 percent (+309,000).
Sunday’s broadcast posted +2 percent growth in total viewers, but a -10 percent drop off among adults 25-54 vs. the comparable Sunday in 2017.
Nevertheless, season-to-date, MTP is the No. 1 Sunday show across the board, delivering its best total viewer lead over ABC in seven seasons (since 2011-12) and CBS in eight seasons (since 2010-11).
CBS’ Face the Nation moderated by Margaret Brennan finished in second place, both among total viewers and A25-54 viewers. The Nov. 25 broadcast was -5 percent in total viewers, and -3 percent in A25-54 demo viewers vs. last year.
ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos posted +1 percent growth in total viewers, but was – 23 percent among adults 25-54 vs. the comparable Sunday in 2017.
A pretty extreme difference.
Fox News Sunday hosted by Chris Wallace on Fox Broadcasting posted the most year-over-year growth despite remaining No. 4 in the Sunday public affairs program hierarchy. The show’s trio of cable replays drew a combined 2 million viewers and 371,000 A25-54 demo viewers. Combined with the original broadcast, the Nov. 25 edition of Fox News Sunday drew 3.4 million total viewers and 755,000 demo viewers.
The numbers for Nov. 25:
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBC | Meet the Press | 3,417,000 | 827,000 |
| CBS | Face the Nation | 3,108,000 | 701,000 |
| ABC |
This Week | 2,998,000 | 674,000 |
| FOX | Fox News Sunday | 1,348,000 | 384,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI (Total Viewers and Adults 25-54); Live + SD for 11/25/18, 11/18/18 and 11/26/17 or as dated. Most Current: 2018 -2019 Season (9/24 – 11/25/18) and 2017-2018 Season (9/25 – 11/26/17). Averages based on regular telecasts.