Meet the Press, the longest-running show in TV history, commemorated its 70th anniversary this past Sunday. The broadcast also won the Sunday show ratings race across all measurements for the first time this broadcast season. Multiple reasons to celebrate.
Moderated by Chuck Todd, MTP was not only No. 1 in total viewers on Nov. 5, but it was also the No. 1 Sunday show among adults 25-54 for the 16th consecutive broadcast. Season to-date, MTP continues to be the top Sunday show in the demo, topping competition by double digits: ABC (+14 percent) and CBS (+20 percent).
That said, the broadcast posted audience losses vs. the comparable week last season (Oct. 30, 2016): -9 percent in total viewers and -22 percent in the demo.
CBS’s Face the Nation with John Dickerson slipped to No. 2 in total viewers for the first time this broadcast season; but it still remains the most-watched Sunday political show this season to-date. The Nov. 5 edition of FTN was -11 percent in total viewers, and -22 percent in the demo vs. the comparable Sunday last season.
ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos posted its largest audience and best A25-54 rating of the season this past Sunday. The program finished No. 2 among adults 25-54 ahead of Face the Nation, and wasn’t terribly far behind MTP in the measurement.
The program was down slightly from the comparable Sunday last year in total viewers (-5 percent) and A25-54 (-3 percent).
Additionally, This Week was rescheduled on ABC’s New York affiliate WABC due to coverage of the NYC Marathon.
Fox News Sunday hosted by Chris Wallace was the sole Sunday political show to post year-over-year growth, both in total viewers (+18 percent) and the key A25-54 demo (+7 percent). The 2 p.m. FNS cable repeat was cut short and the 10 p.m. repeat was preempted due to breaking news.
*Editor’s Note: Face the Nation’s second half-hour was broadcast contiguously across 59.8 percent of the CBS affiliates.
The numbers for November 5:
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBC | Meet the Press | 3.360 M |
936 k |
| CBS | Face the Nation (1/2 hr) | 3.311 M | 720 k |
| ABC | This Week | 3.278 M | 913 k |
| FOX | Fox News Sunday | 1.410 M | 423 k |
| UNIV | Al Punto | n/a | n/a |
*Al Punto ratings will be added when made available.