NBC’s Meet the Press finished at the top of the Sunday show food chain on Oct. 28, averaging 3.26 million total viewers. That’s -4 percent vs. the Oct. 29 2017 broadcast audience, but still +17 percent more than ABC and +7 percent more than CBS hauled.
MTP also scored its usual first place finish in the Sunday show race among adults 25-54 (39 straight broadcasts at No. 1), averaging 868,000 A25-54 viewers, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. That’s -14 percent vs. the comparable first-run broadcast on the same Sunday last year.
Sunday’s broadcast was not an easy one for Chuck Todd and the team, featuring interviews with Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and CEO and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt following the shooting at Tree of Life Congregation synagogue in Pittsburgh.
CBS Face the Nation ranked No. 2 this past week, both in total viewers and among adults 25-54. The broadcast was -10 percent in total viewers, but surprisingly +5 percent in the A25-54 demo vs. the comparable broadcast last year. John Dickerson remains at the helm with Margaret Brennan on maternity leave.
ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos ranked No. 3 across the board. The broadcast was -6 percent in total viewers, and -19 percent in A25-54 demo viewers vs. last year, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data.
Fox News Sunday hosted by Chris Wallace was pre-empted in some key markets due to the weekend’s breaking news, but managed to post +3 percent growth vs. last year among adults 25-54. The broadcast was slightly down year over year in total viewers (-2 percent).
FNS’ trio of cable replays delivered 2.65 million total viewers and 506,000 demo viewers. Combined with the first-run broadcast, that’s 4.07 million total viewers and 913,000 demo viewers on Sunday, Oct. 28.
The numbers for Oct. 28, 2018 (Nielsen Live+SD data):
| Network | Program | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBC | Meet the Press | 3,263,000 | 868,000 |
| CBS | Face the Nation (1/2 hr) | 3,063,000 | 739,000 |
| ABC |
This Week | 2,786,000 | 663,000 |
| FOX | Fox News Sunday | 1,422,000 | 407,000 |
Meet the Press managed to win the month of October, averaging 3.18 million total viewers, +16 percent more than ABC’s This Week and just +4 percent more than CBS’ Face the Nation. October 2018 marked the 17th straight month the NBC Sunday public affairs show defeated ABC and 11th consecutive monthly win over CBS in total viewers.
MTP continues to dominate the demo most valued by news advertisers, winning its 13th consecutive month among A24-54 viewers.