The Sunday before the RNC is typically a strong one for the Sunday public affairs shows, though the ratings weren’t exactly a blowout on Sunday. CBS’ “Face the Nation” was tops in both total and demo viewers, followed by NBC’s “Meet the Press.” ABC’s “This Week” had a reasonably strong number three showing, with “Fox News Sunday” and “Al Punto” rounding out the top five.

Compared to the same week last year, only CBS was up in total and demo viewers, with NBC and ABC down. Fox was down in total viewers but up slightly in the demo. This weeknd last eyar was Hurricane Irene, which likely boosted viewership, apparently moreso than the RNC. “Face the Nation” is up +8% and “This Week” is up +2%. All the shows are down among younger viewers year-over-year.

Cable rebroadcasts of “Fox News Sunday” averaged a combined 2,972,000 Total Viewers and 580,000 A25-54 viewers.

“Face the Nation” is based on the first half-hour only, as the full contiguous hour airs in just 69% of the country.

The numbers for August 26: