CBS’ “Face the Nation” was the top-rated Sunday public affairs show on May 19, besting NBC’s “Meet the Press” by +210,000 Total Viewers and +181,000 A25-54 viewers.

Compared to the same week last year, every show except “Meet the Press” is up in both ratings measurements. “Fox News Sunday” grew the most in Total Viewers (+31%) and Univision’s “Al Punto” was up the most in A25-54 viewers (+46%). “Meet the Press” is flat in Total Viewers and down -13% in the demo.

Cable replays of “Fox News Sunday” averaged a combined 1,908,000 Total Viewers and 312,000 viewers in the demo. Rebroadcasts of “Meet the Press” delivered 993,000 Total Viewers and 518,000 A25-54 viewers.

“Face the Nation” is based on the first half-hour only, as the full contiguous hour aired in just 66% of the country.

The numbers for May 19:

CBS’ “Face the Nation” was back on top May 12, winning in both Total Viewers and A25-54 viewers. NBC’s “Meet the Press” was second in Total Viewers and ABC’s “This Week” was second in A25-54 viewers.

Compared to the same week last year, Univision’s “Al Punto” grew the most, up +72% in Total Viewers and +56% in the A25-54 demographic. “Fox News Sunday” also grew in both ratings measurements, up +21% and +12%, respectively.

Year-over-year growth was mixed for “Face the Nation,” down -2% in Total Viewers and up +8% in A25-54 viewers, and “This Week,” up +7% and down -6%, respectively. NBC’s “Meet the Press” was down across the board, -5% in Total Viewers and -22% in the demo.

Cable replays of “Fox News Sunday” averaged a combined 2,449,000 Total Viewers and 507,000 viewers in the demo. Rebroadcasts of “Meet the Press” delivered 1,075,000 Total Viewers and 432,000 A25-54 viewers.

“Face the Nation” is based on the first half-hour only, as the full contiguous hour aired in just 66% of the country.

The numbers for May 12:

It was a split decision for the Sunday public affairs shows on May 5: CBS’ “Face the Nation” took the top spot in Total Viewers and NBC’s “Meet the Press” won in the A25-54 demographic.

Compared to the same week last year, only “Fox News Sunday” grew in both ratings measurements, up +15% in Total Viewers and +2% in the demo. ABC’s “This Week” (+6% / -2%) and CBS (+8% / -4%) were up in Total Viewers but down in A25-54 viewers. Univision’s “Al Punto” was down -10% in Total Viewers and flat in the demo, while “Meet the Press” was down -5% and -15%, respectively.

Cable replays of “Fox News Sunday” averaged a combined 2,330,000 Total Viewers and 468,000 viewers in the demo. Rebroadcasts of “Meet the Press” delivered 1,009,000 Total Viewers and 466,000 A25-54 viewers.

“Face the Nation” is based on the first half-hour only, as the full contiguous hour aired in just 66% of the country.

The numbers for May 5:

Without an election in the near future, at least a few of the Sunday public affairs shows are branching out this weekend and covering something even more ingrained into the national psyche: sports.

CBS’ “Face the Nation” will be dedicating its show this week on “The Emergence of gay Athletes,” featuring interviews with Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, among others. The show comes as NBA player Jason Collins came out of the closet in Sports Illustrated, becoming one of the big news stories of the week.

“Fox News Sunday” meanwhile will see Chris Wallace interviewing boxing legend Mike Tyson (see the photo above). Wallace talks to Tyson about how he blew through hundreds of millions of dollars, and how he has been trying to turn his life around.

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CBS’ “Face the Nation” took the top spot on April 28, besting NBC’s “Meet the Press” by +690,000 Total Viewers and +101,000 A25-54 viewers. “Face” was also the only public affairs show to grow in both ratings measurements compared to the same week last year, up +5% in both Total Viewers and the A25-54 demographic.

Both “Meet the Press” (-11% / +3%) and Univision’s “Al Punto” (-7% / +9%) are down in Total Viewers but up in the demo year-over-year. “Fox News Sunday” is up +9% in Total Viewers but down -11% in A25-54 viewers. ABC’s “This Week” is down in both ratings measurements, -2% and -11%, respectively.

Cable replays of “Fox News Sunday” averaged a combined 2,168,000 Total Viewers and 416,000 A25-54 viewers. Rebroadcasts of “Meet the Press” delivered an additional 1,093,000 Total Viewers and 447,000 A25-54 viewers.

“Face the Nation” is based on the first half-hour only, as the full contiguous hour aired in just 65% of the country.

The numbers for April 28:

In the wake of the Boston marathon bombings, the Sunday public affairs shows were all up for the week on April 21. Despite a win in Total Viewers for “Face the Nation,” the CBS show came in third in the A25-54 demographic, behind NBC’s “Meet the Press” and ABC’s “This Week.”

Except for “Fox News Sunday,” which was down -2% in Total Viewers and -8% in the A25-54 demographic, all the shows showed growth compared to the same week last year. Univision’s “Al Punto” was up the most, +39% in Total Viewers and +45% in A25-54 viewers.

Cable replays of “Fox News Sunday” averaged a combined 2,703,000 Total Viewers and 566,000 A25-54 viewers. Rebroadcasts of “Meet the Press” delivered 1,000,000 Total Viewers and 377,000 A25-54 viewers.

“Face the Nation” is based on the first half-hour only, as the full contiguous hour aired in just 65% of the country.

The numbers for April 21:

“Face the Nation” was the most-watched public affairs show for the fifth week running on April 14. CBS bested NBC’s “Meet the Press” by +400,000 in total viewers and +243,000 in the A25-54 demographic.

Compared to the same week last year, only “Face the Nation” and Univision’s “Al Punto” are showing growth among younger viewers. CBS is +9% in the demo, while Univision up +16%. “Meet the Press,” ABC’s “This Week” and “Fox News Sunday” are all down double-digits in A25-54 viewers.

Cable replays of “Fox News Sunday” averaged a combined 1,713,000 Total Viewers and 328,000 A25-54 viewers. Rebroadcasts of “Meet the Press” delivered an additional 971,000 viewers and 375,000 viewers, respectively.

“Face the Nation” is based on the first half-hour only, as the full contiguous hour aired in just 55% of the country.

The numbers for April 14:

We already noted that Florida Senator Marco Rubio will be appearing on all of the Sunday public affairs programs, but there is a baseball battle brewing too. This weekend the film “42″ is released, about the life of Jackie Robinson.

ABC’s “This Week” is talking about the film and Robinson’s legacy with New York Yankees stars Mariano Rivera and Robinson Cano. Rivera is the last player to wear the number 42, having been grandfathered in when Major League Baseball retired it in 1997. Cano wears number 24.

NBC’s “Meet the Press” has Robinson’s widow, Rachel Robinson, as well as actor Harrison Ford, who plays Branch Rickey in “42,” and Ken Burns, whose PBS series on baseball drew critical acclaim.

Somewhat surprisingly, CBS’ “Face the Nation,” hosted by well-known baseball fan Bob Schieffer, will not be having a segment on the film. Update: “CBS Sunday Morning” did a segment on Robinson last Sunday. Watch below.
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For the fourth week running, CBS’ “Face the Nation” was the top-rated Sunday public affairs show on April 7. “Face” topped NBC’s “Meet the Press” by +550,000 total viewers and +91,000 A25-54 viewers.

ABC’s “This Week” and Univision’s “Al Punto” were the only shows to grow in both total viewers and in the A25-54 demographic compared to the same week last year. ABC was up +18% in total viewers and +10% in the demo and Univision was up +18% and 22%, respectively.

CBS and “Fox News Sunday” were up in total viewers and down in the demo, and NBC was up in total viewers and flat in the demo year-over-year.

Cable replays of “Fox News Sunday” averaged a combined 1,921,000 Total Viewers and 413,000 A25-54 viewers.

“Face the Nation” is based on the first half-hour only, as the full contiguous hour aired in just 65% of the country.

The numbers for April 7:

On the one-year anniversary of its expansion to a full hour, CBS’ “Face the Nation” was the number one Sunday public affairs show. But “Face,” which is still rated only on the first half-hour, is down -7% in Total Viewers and -11% in A25-54 viewers year-over-year.

ABC’s “This Week” is also down across the board, -11% in Total Viewers and -10% in A25-54 viewers, compared to the same week last year. NBC’s “Meet the Press” is flat in Total Viewers and up +7% in A25-54 viewers.

Both “Fox News Sunday” and Univision’s “Al Punto” are up double digits in both ratings measurements year-over year: Fox is up +11% in Total Viewers and +41% in A25-54 viewers and Univision is up +12% and +17%, respectively.

Cable replays of “Fox News Sunday” averaged a combined 1,524,000 Total Viewers and 357,000 A25-54 viewers. Rebroadcasts of “Meet the Press” added 971,000 Total Viewers and 465,000 A25-54 viewers.

Note: The public affairs shows were labeled as specials March 31 due to the Easter holiday.

“Face the Nation” is based on the first half-hour only, as the full contiguous hour aired in just 50% of the country.

The numbers for March 31:

As for the first quarter of 2013:
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