4 days ago
NBC's ‘Meet The Press' Extends Its Lead Among Younger Viewers
MEET THE PRESS — Pictured: Kristen Welker, Moderator, appears on "Meet the Press" in Washington ... More D.C., Sunday, June 8, 2025 — (Photo by: Shannon Finney/NBC) via Getty Images)
On Sunday, NBC's Meet the Press with Kristen Welker marked five straight weeks at number one among viewers 25-54, the key demographic valued by advertisers. Meet the Press drew an audience of 450,000 viewers, beating CBS' Face the Nation (397,000 viewers), ABC's This Week (344,000 viewers) and Fox News Sunday (176,000 viewers).
Among total viewers, Face the Nation was first with 2.611 million viewers (based on the first 30 minutes of the program, which is rated separately), followed closely by This Week (2.411 million viewers) and Meet the Press (2.185 million viewers).
A promotional image for NBC's 'Meet the Press with Kristen Welker' that highlights the show's five ... More consecutive weeks as the top-rated Sunday public affairs show among younger viewers.
Sunday was MTP's 11th demo win in the last 17 weeks, which puts the show into first place for the season to date. The program has doubled its lead over the competition in the demo, and won the month of May in that key metric.
Boosting the show's visibility--particularly among those coveted younger viewers--has been a series of noteworthy interviews, including exclusive one-on-ones with President Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
MEET THE PRESS — Moderator Kristen Welker Interviews President-Elect Donald Trump — Pictured: (l-r) ... More President-elect Donald Trump, Moderator Kristen Welker — (Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC via Getty Images)
Welker has moved quickly to establish herself in the moderator's role since taking over the iconic Sunday show from Chuck Todd, who announced in 2023 that he would leave Meet the Press after more than nine years.
In the past few months, Welker landed the first interview with Trump after his victory in November, and interviewed him again to mark his first 100 days in office, along with key newsmaker interviews including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Noteworthy Washington interviews are of course a hallmark of Meet the Press, the longest-running show on network television, but Welker has expanded its focus, which may explain the success it's having attracting younger viewers. In May, Welker hosted a special edition of the show focusing on the nation's mental health crisis, and she's introduced 'Meet the Moment,' an interview series that gives time to voices from outside Washington, including Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, Selma Blair and Olivia Munn, who opened up about her battle with cancer and journey through surrogacy.
'With the Meet the Moment segment, Kristen is highlighting more diverse voices who impact our politics from outside of Washington. It is not just politicians, but public figures from Olivia Munn to Ruby Bridges to Michael Phelps, that are shaping the conversations that matter,' said Meet the Press executive producer David Gelles.
MEET THE PRESS — Moderator Kristen Welker interviews former Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps in ... More Phoenix, AZ — Pictured: (l-r) Michael Phelps, Kristen Welker — (Photo by: Mark Peterman/NBC via Getty Images)
Segments like Meet the Moment also play very well online, as they tend to have a longer shelf-life than many if not most of the stories that dominate Washington in any given week. That may explain why Meet the Press also leads the Sunday public affairs shows in digital and streaming, with viewers consuming hundreds of thousands of hours of content.
Clips of Welker's interview with the actor Selma Blair, where she described herself 'in pain everyday' from multiple sclerosis, have been watched tens of thousands of times on YouTube alone, and Sunday's full episode of Meet the Press has been watched more than 200,000 times on the platform in just two days.
