"Meet the Press with Chuck Todd" (MTP) was the #1 most-watched Sunday show on February 18, taking the lead now as most-watched across the board season-to-date, according to Nielsen Media Research data.
With Sunday's win, MTP is #1 across the board at this point in the season for the first time in seven years (since 2010-2011). The network broadcast is holding its best lead over ABC and CBS in six years among total viewers (since 2011-2012) and its best lead over CBS in key demo viewers in seven years (since 2010-2011).
Following last week's Florida school shooting, this past Sunday's broadcast featured exclusive interviews with Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) who said "the problem is not owning an AR-15," it's "the person that owns it," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie and five Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students who announced "March for Our Lives," a nationwide movement for school safety and effective gun violence legislation.
MTP marked its fourth straight week as the #1 most-watched Sunday show with 4.089 million total viewers tuning in, beating both ABC and CBS by double-digits: +32 percent (+986,000) more than ABC's "This Week" and +19 percent (+646,000) more than CBS' "Face the Nation," which only rates for the first 30 minutes of its hour broadcast. MTP was the only Sunday public affairs program to deliver more than four million total viewers.
MTP was also the most-watched broadcast in the demo most valued by news advertisers for its eleventh straight broadcast, beating both ABC and CBS by double-digits. As the only Sunday public affairs program to deliver more than one million demo viewers, 1.249 million A25-54 viewers tuned in: +52 percent (+427,000) more than ABC and +85 percent (+574,000) more than CBS. This was MTP's biggest demo audience in nearly a year (since 2/19/2017).
An additional 802,000 total viewers and 163,000 A25-54 viewers watched the Sunday program through a rebroadcast on MSNBC.
Tune into MSNBC's "MTP Daily" weekdays at 5 p.m. for more, and follow the show on Facebookand on Twitter for the latest.
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NATIONAL AVERAGES - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
Show Name | Net | Duration (minutes) | Total Viewers | A25-54 Viewers |
MEET THE PRESS | NBC | 50 | 4089 | 1249 |
FACE THE NATION HALF-HOUR | CBS | 30 | 3442 | 675 |
FACE THE NATION HOUR | CBS | 60 | 2885 | 581 |
THIS WEEK | ABC | 46 | 3103 | 822 |
FOX NEWS SUNDAY | FOX | 60 | 1557 | 498 |
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