With the 2008-2009 season over, NBC's "Meet the Press" made it 12 seasons in the top spot for Total Viewers and 16 seasons in the A25-54 demo. "This Week" had its best demo season average since '00-'01. For the third quarter (6/29/09-9/20/09), things have gotten tighter:

Network	Program	Season Total Viewers	Season A25-54	Qtr Total Viewers	Qtr A25-54
NBC	"Meet the Press"	3.82M	1.33M	3.02M	980K
ABC	"This Week"	3.05M	1.03M	2.69M	890K
CBS	"Face the Nation"	2.88M	1.00M	2.46M	790K
FOX	"Fox News Sunday"	1.33M	500K	1.14M	420K

ABC and NBC press releases after the jump.


NBC:

(NEW YORK) September 24, 2009 According to Nielsen Media Research data, "Meet the Press" was the most-watched Sunday morning public affairs program for the 2008-09 television season in all categories. The program was No. 1, averaging 3.793 million total viewers, +26 percent more (+771,000) than second place ABC's "This Week" 3.022 million, a +32 percent advantage (+926,000) over third place CBS' "Face the Nation" 2.867 million and a +185 percent lead (+2,463,000) over FOX News Sunday's 1.330 million. "Meet the Press" has now placed first in total viewers for 12 consecutive seasons, in households for 13 consecutive seasons (including a tie in 1996-97), and in adults 25-54 for 16 straight seasons (including a tie in 1993-94).

In homes, "Meet the Press" outperformed ABC by 23%, CBS by +35%, and FOX by 170%. In rating A25-54, the NBC program beat both ABC and CBS by +38% and FOX by +175%.

ABC:

For the 2008-2009 season, "This Week" placed 2nd, marking the second season in a row it has outperformed CBS' "Face the Nation" among total viewers and Adults 25-54. "This Week" also experienced its best total viewer number (3.05 million) for a season since the 1998/1999 season ten years ago. In the Adults 25-54 demographic, ABC posted its best season average (1.03 million) since the 2000/2001 season. Versus the other Sunday shows, "This Week" experienced the most growth season to season – +12% among total viewers and +4% among Adults 25-54. "Meet," in comparison, declined -3% in total viewers and -5% in the demo season to season. Additionally, compared to the 2007/2008 season, "This Week" narrowed the total viewing gap with "Meet" by 36% and the demo gap by 27%.

For the 3rd Quarter 2009, "This Week" again placed 2nd among both total viewers and Adults 25-54, outperforming "Face" for the ninth consecutive quarter in total viewers and for six of the last nine quarters in the demo. Compared to the other Sunday shows, "This Week" had the best quarter performance, declining only -1% in total viewers and -6% in A25-54 vs. the same quarter last year. "Meet," alternatively, dropped -19% in total viewers and -27% among Adults 24-54 quarter to quarter. Furthermore, versus 3Q 2008, "This Week" closed the total viewing gap with "Meet" by 68% and in the demo, by 77%.