NBC’s Meet the Press Coronavirus Special Pulls in Show’s Biggest Audience In 11 Years

NBC’s Meet the Press coronavirus special on Sunday, which featured an interview with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, pulled in the show’s biggest audience in 11 years.

According to Nielsen data, 4,657,000 viewers tuned into Sunday’s Meet the Press as it aired, with 1,245,000 of those falling in the advertiser-coveted age range of 25-54.

Further, 952,000 people caught the special through additional broadcasts on NBC and MSNBC.

The special beat out the Sunday morning competition — but all of the shows posted strong numbers. CBS’ Face the Nation trailed Meet the Press (4,354,000 total viewers, 960,000 in the key demo), followed ABC’s This Week (3,635,000 total viewers, 899,000 in the demo), and Fox News’ Fox News Sunday (1,635,000 total viewers, 493,000 in the demo).

The special was Meet the Press’s most-viewed show since Jan. 4 2009, when it drew pulled in 4,715,000 viewers and 1,592,000 in the demo with an interview with then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

During Sunday’s show, Fauci responded to the coronavirus chaos going on at U.S. airports.

After being asked by host Chuck Todd about large crowds stuck in close quarters at airports, Fauci said, “I don’t think anything went wrong. I think it’s just the nature of the problem… When you have a situation when people are in different countries, there are going to be restrictions, American citizens, their family, others, permanent residences, they can get back. They don’t need to immediately get back because they think they’re going to get left out.”

“They will be able to get back. When they do get back, they’re going to have some enhanced screening. Depending on the country,” he claimed. “If you’re in the European group, if you’re now with the UK and Ireland, you’re going to have two weeks of self-imposed isolation.”