NBC's Meet the Press Set As Top Rated Sunday Morning Public Affairs Show For 7/18

According to Nielsen Media Research data, "Meet the Press" was top-rated Sunday morning public affairs program for the week ending July 18. The NBC broadcast attracted 2.558 million total viewers, +14% (+308,000) more than second place CBS' 2. 250 million total viewers, a 23% advantage (+471,000) over third place ABC's 2.087 million total viewers, and a +146% (1,517,000) lead over FOX's 1.041 million total viewers. "Meet the Press" has now placed first in total viewers for 449 of the past 454 weeks (when everyone is at full coverage). The program delivered an additional 960,000 viewers with rebroadcasts -- 273,000 viewers on the network and 687,000 viewers on MSNBC.

In Washington, D.C., "Meet the Press" beat the competition with 69,000 viewers (2.8/8 HH). The NBC program had +138% more than FOX News Sunday's 29,000 viewers (1.1/3 HH), +188% more than Face The Nation's 24,000 viewers (1.0/3 HH), and +214% ahead of This Week's 22,000 viewers (0.9/2 HH).

In homes nationally, the NBC broadcast topped the competition with a 1.8 rating and 6 share. CBS came in second with a 1.6/5, ABC in third with a 1.5/5 and FOX was last with 0.7/2. "Meet the Press" has now placed first in households for 547 of the past 550 weeks (when everyone is at full coverage).

Among adults 25-54, the NBC Sunday morning program placed first with 775,000 viewers, ABC came in second with 732,000 viewers, CBS was third with 623,000 viewers and FOX News placed last with 406,000 viewers.

Week-to-week, "Meet the Press" saw gains in rating M18-49 (+25%) and rating W25-54 (+20%). Versus the same telecast last season, the program increased in rating M18-49 (+67%) and rating M25-54 (+17%). "Meet" also increased its advantage over both "Face The Nation" and "This Week" compared to 2Q'10 levels in rating W18-49 and rating W/M25-54. NBC widened its lead over "Face The Nation" versus its season-to-date average in rating W18-49 and rating W/M/A25-54. Compared to last season, "Meet the Press" has widened its lead over both "Face The Nation" and "This Week" in rating A18-49.

Season-to-date, "Meet the Press" now leads second-place "Face The Nation" by +18% in total viewers and +18% in A25-54 (000).

On its digital platforms, "Meet the Press" generated more than 121,000 online video streams from July 18 through July 22. The "Meet the Press" video podcast (available at WWW.MTP.MSNBC.COM) remains the top ranked network Sunday Morning program podcast on iTunes.

Last week's guests were Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX), Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-NJ), Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX), and Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD).

David Gregory is moderator of "Meet the Press." Betsy Fischer is the executive producer and Rebecca Samuels and Chris Donovan are the producers.