THE TRUTH: “MEET THE PRESS WITH CHUCK TODD” WINS ACROSS THE BOARD AGAIN IN BEST STREAK IN ALMOST SEVEN YEARS
Only Sunday Show to Deliver More Than Three Million Total Viewers, Beats ABC by Almost 900,000 Viewers
Longest Key Demo Winning Streak in More Than Seven Years, Wins 31st Straight Week
Tops ABC in Key Demo by Nearly +50 Percent, Tripling Year-Over-Year Lead
AUGUST 21, 2018 – “Meet the Press with Chuck Todd” (MTP) won this past Sunday, August 19 as the #1 most-watched Sunday across the board, according to Nielsen Media Research, marking its ninth straight win across the board and its best streak in nearly seven years (since Sept. 18, 2011).
“Truth isn’t truth,” Rudy Giuliani, lawyer for President Donald Trump, told moderator Chuck Todd on Sunday’s broadcast in a discussion of the president possibly testifying to special counsel Robert Mueller.
“I am not going to be rushed into having him testify so that he gets trapped into perjury,” said Giuliani. “And when you tell me that, you know, he should testify because he’s going to tell the truth and he shouldn’t worry, well that’s so silly because it’s somebody’s version of the truth. Not the truth.” When Todd replied, “Truth is truth,” Giuliani responded, “No, it isn’t truth. Truth isn’t truth. … Donald Trump says I didn’t talk about Flynn with Comey. Comey says you did talk about it, so tell me what the truth is.”
The truth is, with an average of 3.488 million viewers, MTP was the only Sunday show to deliver more than three million total viewers. It beat ABC’s “This Week” by +34 percent (+893,000). This is MTP’s 13th straight win over ABC, improving its lead over the competition by +88 percent (+419,000) compared to last year. The broadcast was also the only one to grow its total audience year over year, up six percent (+211,000).
MTP continues to dominate the demo most valued by news advertisers, winning its 31st consecutive broadcast. This is MTP’s longest winning streak in the key demo in more than seven years (since March 6, 2011). 891,000 A25-54 viewers tuned into MTP this past Sunday: +49 percent (+291,000) more than ABC. Compared to the same Sunday last year, MTP nearly tripled its lead over ABC (+183,000).
Season-to-date, viewers continue to choose MTP as the Sunday show to watch, as the #1 broadcast delivers its biggest total viewer win over ABC (+17 percent, +501,000) in six years (since 2011-2012) and over CBS (five percent, +159,000) in seven years (since 2010-2011).
On Sundays in the influential Washington market, MTP dominates the competition, outperforming other shows across the board and winning every Sunday with total viewers for more than three straight years (since March 22, 2015).
An additional 1.146 million total viewers and 240,000 A25-54 viewers watched the Sunday program through rebroadcasts on NBC and MSNBC.
Tune in to MSNBC’s “MTP Daily” weekdays at 5 p.m. 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:
Olivia Petersen
NBC News
o: (202) 885-4159
e: olivia.petersen@nbcuni.com
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NBC NEWS’ “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 across the board for the 2016-2017 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 5 p.m. ET and to the “1947: The Meet the Press Podcast”. It’s the longest-running show in television history, expanding its brand to include a political 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.
