ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos and CBS’s Face the Nation finished in a virtual dead heat for total viewers on the latest Sunday, with ABC narrowly ahead.
On October 11, 2026, This Week averaged 2.516 million total viewers, edging CBS’s Face the Nation (averaging its half-hour and hour-long editions) at 2.486 million, according to Nielsen Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel ratings. ABC also led in the key adults 25-54 demographic (427,000) and adults 18-49 (301,000). This Week improved week-to-week across the board and posted its strongest adults 25-54 performance in seven months.
NBC’s Meet the Press trailed further behind with 2.150 million total viewers, tying CBS in the adults 25-54 demo at 323,000 but finishing lower in adults 18-49 (218,000). Fox’s Fox News Sunday lagged well back at 869,000 total viewers, 172,000 in adults 25-54, and 152,000 in adults 18-49.
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| Graphic courtesy of RoadMN |
NBC’s Meet the Press trailed further behind with 2.150 million total viewers, tying CBS in the adults 25-54 demo at 323,000 but finishing lower in adults 18-49 (218,000). Fox’s Fox News Sunday lagged well back at 869,000 total viewers, 172,000 in adults 25-54, and 152,000 in adults 18-49.
The close ABC-CBS race continues a pattern of tight competition among the three major broadcast shows, which regularly cluster around 2.5 million viewers. For the 2025-2026 season, ABC’s This Week led in total viewers (approximately 2.73 million), ahead of CBS and NBC, while NBC’s Meet the Press claimed the top spot in the adults 25-54 demographic for a second consecutive season under Kristen Welker. Fox remains a distant fourth in overall audience.
The October 11 results came as all four programs covered politics heading into the midterms, with Face the Nation featuring guests including Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Weekly rankings among the Sunday shows continue to fluctuate depending on guests, news cycles, and specific weeks.
The close ABC-CBS race continues a pattern of tight competition among the three major broadcast shows, which regularly cluster around 2.5 million viewers. For the 2025-2026 season, ABC’s This Week led in total viewers (approximately 2.73 million), ahead of CBS and NBC, while NBC’s Meet the Press claimed the top spot in the adults 25-54 demographic for a second consecutive season under Kristen Welker. Fox remains a distant fourth in overall audience.
The October 11 results came as all four programs covered politics heading into the midterms, with Face the Nation featuring guests including Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Weekly rankings among the Sunday shows continue to fluctuate depending on guests, news cycles, and specific weeks.