NBC’s Meet the Press was the highest-rated Sunday public affairs show among viewers 25-54 in February, winning the key demographic valued by advertisers. Meet the Press delivered an average audience of 451,000 viewers in the demo, ahead of CBS’ Face the Nation (448,000 viewers), ABC’s This Week (441,000 viewers) and Fox News Sunday (281,000 viewers).
The February win means Meet the Press is the top-rated Sunday show in the key demo for the current season–and has posted year-over-year gains, up 9 percent from February 2024.
“We’ve been focused on doing what Meet the Press does best — accountability interviews with key news makers combined with analysis about the most pressing issues,” said executive producer David P. Gelles. “When we produce the show, we’re concentrated on putting the week in perspective for our viewers — both news of day and news for the history books.”
The Sunday ratings race was also tight among total viewers, with CBS finishing first. Face the Nation drew a total audience of 2.943 million viewers, followed by This Week (2.644 million viewers), Meet the Press (2.525 million viewers), and Fox News Sunday (1.194 million viewers).
Meet the Press posted month-to-month gains among total viewers, and February represented the show’s largest monthly viewership in seven months. MTP also held on to its streak as the most-watched Sunday show in Washington, where it has never lost a month among total viewers.
On its most recent Sunday, Meet the Press host Kristen Welker had exclusive interviews with Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Markwayne Mullin, and delivered an average audience of 467,000 viewers in the key demo, well ahead of the competition. This Week was second with 385,000 viewers, followed by Face the Nation (329,000 viewers) and Fox News Sunday (277,000 viewers).
Meet the Press has driven the political conversation since the 2024 election, with Welker landing the first interview with Donald Trump following his re-election, and booking interviews with key figures in the newly-reshaped Washington, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
In the first weeks of the new administration, Welker has had newsmaking interviews with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Ukrainian President Zelensky, who she interviewed in Munich two weeks ago.
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