First Consecutive Key Demo Win in Five Years
September 23, 2026 — Meet the Press with Kristen Welker was the #1 Sunday public affairs show among key A25-54 demo viewers for the 2025-26 broadcast season, according to Nielsen. This marks the second consecutive key demo win under moderator Kristen Welker’s leadership and the first time the show has had consecutive wins in five years.
Meet the Press averaged 414,000 A25-54 viewers this broadcast season, leading ABC by +51,000 (+14%) and CBS by +37,000 (+10%). Beyond broadcast, Meet the Press also reached over 120 million viewers on NBC News’ YouTube, Instagram and TikTok accounts this season.
Meet the Press also ranked #1 in the key A25-54 demo in Q3 2026. This quarter is the widest key demo lead vs. CBS—which continues to rate for just 30 minutes of its hour-long broadcast—in five quarters.
This season featured interviews with numerous world leaders, including Welker’s fourth sitdown interview with President Donald Trump. Meet the Press remains the only Sunday public affairs show to have interviewed President Trump. Welker also secured Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s first-ever American TV interview as well as interviews with Iranian Foreign Minister of Iran Abbas Araghchi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
This broadcast season featured interviews with a variety of key administration officials and leaders of both political parties, including Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Attorney General Todd Blanche, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.), Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-N.Y.) and Senate Nominee Abdeul El-Sayed (D-Mich.).
Meet the Press has prioritized bipartisan “Common Ground” conversations, including hosting the “Common Ground” town hall at the National Governors Association’s summer meeting, which featured conversations with Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.) and Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-Okla.) on dignity in politics and Gov. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Gov. Spencer Cox (R-Utah) on keeping the American dream alive. Additional bipartisan conversations this season have included Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.) and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-Ark.) on maternal health and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on their push to curb executive branch war powers.
Welker also showcased her signature “Meet the Moment” conversations in sitdowns with “Wicked: For Good” director Jon M. Chu, actor and comedian Hasan Minhaj, chef Marcus Samuelsson, founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First Reshma Saujani and entrepreneur Emma Grede.
In addition, this season featured an America 250 special broadcast showcasing interviews with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III as the country celebrated the semiquincentennial. The special episode aired 50 years after Meet the Press marked the 1976 bicentennial on the show, featuring governors from three of the 13 original colonies.
This marks the second consecutive broadcast season that Meet the Press has won the key A25-54 demo. With the 2024-25 broadcast season win, Welker’s propelled the show from #3 to #1 in the key demo. Meet the Press averaged 2.512 million total viewers this broadcast season and has never lost a month in the influential Washington, D.C. market among total viewers.
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NATIONAL AVERAGES – 2025-2026 BROADCAST SEASON
| Show Name | Network | Duration (minutes) | Total Viewers | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Viewers |
| MEET THE PRESS | NBC | 1,832 | 2,512 | 414 | 269 |
| FACE THE NATION | CBS | 1,200 | 2,910 | 377 | 273 |
| THIS WEEK | ABC | 2,332 | 2,670 | 363 | 259 |
| FOX NEWS SUNDAY | FOX | 2,700 | 1,005 | 207 | 134 |
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MEET THE PRESS WITH KRISTEN WELKER
Meet the Press with Kristen Welker is the premiere destination for original political reporting and interviews with the leaders that shape each week’s headlines. Moderated by Kristen Welker, the veteran NBC News chief White House correspondent and the first journalist of color to moderate a Sunday public affairs program, Meet the Press has set the political agenda and highlighted the everyday impact of Washington decision-making on viewers all over the country for more than 75 years. It reaches millions of viewers every Sunday and millions more through social, digital and on-demand platforms. Meet the Press also brings its signature analysis and newsmaker interviews to streaming audiences with Meet the Press NOW at 4 p.m. on weekdays on NBC News NOW. Kristen Welker is the 13th moderator of Meet the Press, David P. Gelles is executive producer of Meet the Press, and Melissa Frankel is executive producer of Meet the Press NOW.
