Good 'Week' for ABC News
Show averaged 2.8 million viewers
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The George Stephanopoulos-hosted "This Week" averaged 2.8 million viewers to 2.77 million for NBC News’ "Meet the Press" and 2.31 million for CBS’ "Face the Nation," according to Nielsen estimates. It also won in the key demo of adults 25-54 (980,000 to 910,000 for "Press" and 650,000 for "Nation").
This isn’t the first time that "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" has beaten "Meet the Press" — it happened in January when the ABC host devoted the hour to a chat with President-elect Barack Obama — but it’s the first time it has won with a regular show against full coverage for the other morning programs.
And the last time a regular edition of "This Week" (regardless of host) beat a regular "Meet the Press" was in June 1999.
Last Sunday, "This Week’s" guests were Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
While the narrow "This Week" victory counts as an upset, it’s not that big of a surprise given recent trends.
The ABC News program has been closing the gap and has pulled to within shouting distance on several occasions over the last six months. Third quarter to date, "This Week" is up 15% among total viewers vs. last year (2.72 million vs. 2.37m) while "Press" has slid 20% (2.83m vs. 3.54m for last summer, when Tom Brokaw fronted the program).
The result also suggests a more level playing field in this daypart as auds have started warming to Stephanopoulos (who began hosting the show in September 2002) while NBC’s David Gregory is still finding his footing.
Gregory took over as moderator last December, becoming the first regular host of the venerable program since Tim Russert died six months earlier.
