#1 ACROSS THE BOARD FOR 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, AND 2019-2020 SEASONS
TOPS COMPETITION BY DOUBLE-DIGITS IN KEY DEMO
PLUS, 233 SUNDAYS IN A ROW AS MOST-WATCHED SUNDAY SHOW IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL
ALSO WINS SUNDAY IN KEY DEMO FOR 33 OUT OF LAST 36 WEEKS
Sept. 15, 2020 – For the fourth straight season, Meet the Press with Chuck Todd (MTP) will once again be the #1 most-watched Sunday show across the board; ending the 2019-2020 season at #1 in every category – dominating in total viewers, the all-important A25-54 key demo, and among A18-49 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research data. This marks MTP’s most watched season since the 2016-2017 season.
With one week remaining in the 2019-2020 season, an average of 3.469 million total viewers tuned into MTP (Sept. 23, 2019 – Sept. 13, 2020; official season ends Sept. 20, 2020). MTP topped ABC’s This Week by +16 percent (+489,000) and CBS’ Face the Nation by two percent (+79,000). This marks MTP’s best total viewer streak since the 2011-2012 season and best season average in three years (since the 2016-2017 season). Compared to the prior season, MTP was up five percent (+174,000) among total viewers.
MTP continues to dominate in the demo most valued by news advertisers, winning the season with an average of 815,000 A25-54 viewers. MTP topped both ABC and CBS by double-digits: ABC by +19 percent (+131,000) and CBS by +17 percent (+117,000). This marks MTP’s fifth straight season win in the key A25-54 demo and MTP’s best demo streak since the 2011-2012 season.
MTP was also #1 among A18-49 viewers, again topping both ABC and CBS by double-digits. MTP averaged 558,000 A18-49 viewers, +23 percent (+104,000) more than ABC and +19 percent (+88,000) more than CBS. This marks MTP’s fifth straight season win in the A18-49 demo and MTP’s best A18-49 streak since the 2013-2014 season.
In the influential Washington, D.C. market, MTP has won every Sunday with total viewers in over five years (since March 22, 2015), topping the competition for more than 230 consecutive Sundays.
During the 2019-2020 season, the longest-running show in television history continued to expand its brand and reach new audiences outside of the flagship Sunday program with the launch of the weekly podcast, The Chuck ToddCast, which features interviews with top reporters from the nation’s capital and exclusive sit-down interviews and on-the-ground dispatches from across the 2020 campaign trail, as well as the launch of the limited digital series, Meet the Press: College Roundtable, a weekly, virtual panel discussion bringing together college journalism students from across the country to interview lawmakers.
Plus, the Meet the Press Film Festival, now in its fourth year will appear as part of the American Film Institute’s all-virtual AFI Festival, Oct. 15 to 22 and showcase the best in issue-based documentary shorts, bringing together filmmakers, subjects, audiences and NBC News correspondents in an all-virtual setting for unique, thought-provoking discussions.
This season, MTP was the only Sunday public affairs program to be nominated for News & Documentary Emmys. The special December 2019 ‘Alternative Facts’ broadcast was nominated for Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis and the show’s interview with President Trump was nominated for Outstanding Direction: News, marking four Emmy nominations for MTP in five years.
SUNDAY
MTP was the #1 most-watched Sunday show in the key demo this past Sunday, September 13. Sunday’s broadcast featured interviews with RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota Michael Osterholm and former FBI agent Peter Strzok. Data following Aug. 31, 2020 includes PPM/OOH measurements.
MTP averaged 3.039 million total viewers, nine percent (+257,000) more than ABC’s This Week. Compared to the same Sunday last year, MTP was up +12 percent (+322,000). 615,000 A25-54 viewers tuned into the Sunday program: +11 percent (+59,000) more than ABC and +1,000 more than CBS. Compared to the same Sunday last year, MTP was up two percent (+12,000) among key demo viewers.
An additional 1.097 million total viewers and 224,000 A25-54 viewers watched the Sunday program through rebroadcasts on NBC and MSNBC.
Ratings now reflect the addition of Out of Home (OOH) viewership that Nielsen Media Research began measuring on Aug. 31 across only 44 markets.
Tune in to MSNBC’s MTP Daily weekdays at 1 p.m. ET for more from moderator Chuck Todd, and follow the broadcast on Facebook and on Twitter for the latest.
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For more information, contact:
Richard Hudock
NBC News
o: (202) 885-4159
Joya Manasseh
NBC News
o: (212) 664-2498
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MEET THE PRESS WITH CHUCK TODD
Meet the Press with Chuck Todd is where newsmakers come to make news — setting the political agenda and spotlighting the impact Washington decision-making has on Americans across the country. It is the #1 most-watched Sunday public affairs show for the 2019-2020 season, reaching more than three million viewers every Sunday and millions more through social, digital and on-demand platforms. Meet the Press brings its authority and influencer interviews to MSNBC with MTP Daily weekdays at 1 p.m. ET and to The Chuck ToddCast. It’s the longest-running show in television history, recently expanding its brand to include a political short-documentary film festival in collaboration with the American Film Institute. Chuck Todd is the political director of NBC News and the moderator of Meet the Press; John Reiss is the executive producer.
