According to Nielsen Media Research data, "Meet the Press with David Gregory" was the most-watched Sunday morning public affairs program, winning its 50th consecutive quarter for 1Q'10 in total viewers and homes -- its best showing since at least 1980, as far back as NBC research records go. For 1Q'10, the program was No. 1, averaging 3.525 million total viewers, +18 percent more (+543,000) than second place CBS' "Face the Nation" 2.982 million, a +37 percent advantage (+953,000) over third place ABC's "This Week" 2.572 million and a +181 percent lead (+2,272,000) over FOX News Sunday's 1.253 million.
In homes nationally for 1Q'10, the NBC program placed first with a 2.5 rating and 7 share. CBS placed second with a 2.1 rating and 6 share, ABC came in third with a 1.9 rating and 5 share and FOX placed fourth with a 0.9 and 3 share. "Meet the Press" beat "Face the Nation" by 19%, "this Week" by 32% and FOX News Sunday by 178%.
Among adults 25-54 for 1Q'10, the NBC Sunday morning show was No. 1 with a 0.9 rating. CBS came in second with 0.7, ABC in third with 0.6 and FOX came in last with a 0.4. In rating A25-54, "Meet the Press" topped CBS by +29%, ABC by +50% and FOX News Sunday by +125%.
For the week ending March 28, 2010, "Meet the Press" was the most-watched Sunday morning public affairs program in all categories according to Nielsen Media Research data. The NBC broadcast was No. 1, delivering 3.523 million total viewers, 18% more (+534,000) than second place CBS' "Face the Nation" 2.989 million, a +47% lead (+1,124,000) over third place ABC's "This Week" 2.399 million, and a +218% advantage (+2,414,000) over FOX News Sunday's 1.109 million viewers. "Meet the Press" has now placed first in total viewers for 436 of the past 441 weeks (when everyone is at full coverage). Rebroadcasts of the program delivered an additional 1,079,000 viewers (388,000 on the network re-air, and 691,000 on msnbc rebroadcasts).
In Washington, D.C., "Meet the Press" beat the competition combined with 111,000 viewers (4.2/12 HH). The NBC program had a +693% advantage over ABC's 14,000 (0.7/2 HH), a +158% lead over FOX News' 43,000 viewers (1.6/5 HH), and +118% more than CBS' 51,000 (1.9/6 HH).
In homes nationally, the NBC broadcast topped the competition with a 2.4 rating and 7 share. CBS came in second with 2.0/6, ABC placed third with a 1.7/5 and FOX was last with 0.8/2. "Meet the Press" has now placed first in households for 534 of the past 537 weeks (when everyone is at full coverage).
Among adults 25-54, the NBC Sunday morning program was first with 1,279,000 viewers. CBS was second with 947,000 viewers, ABC third with 749,000 viewers and FOX News was last with 434,000 viewers.
"Meet the Press" was the only public affairs program to grow its total audience week-to-week, increasing in total viewers (+4%, or +133,000), rating W/A18-49 (+33%/+17%), and rating M/A25-54 (+33%/+11%). The NBC program also widened its lead over each of its competitors week-to-week in homes, total viewers, rating M18-49, and rating M25-54. "Meet the Press" was up versus its 1Q'10-to-date average in rating M/A18-49 (+33%/+17%) and rating W/M/A25-54 (+13%/+33%/+11%). Versus its season-to-date average, it posted gains in homes (+4%), total viewers (+7%, or +241,000), rating M/A18-49 (+33%/+17%), and rating W/M/A25-54 (+13%/+50%/+25%).
Season-to-date, "Meet the Press" leads second-place "Face The Nation" by +18% in total viewers and +16% in A25-54 (000).
On its digital platforms, "Meet the Press" generated more than 208,000 online video streams from March 28 through April 1, 2010. The "Meet the Press" video podcast (available at ) remains the top ranked network Sunday Morning program podcast on iTunes.
Last week's guests were Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The roundtable featured Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin; Editor of Newsweek Jon Meacham; Republican Strategist Mike Murphy; and Democratic Strategist Bob Shrum.
David Gregory is the moderator of "Meet the Press." Betsy Fischer is the executive producer and Rebecca Samuels and Chris Donovan are the producers.