MEET THE PRESS Continues as #1 Sunday Public Affairs Hour for 12/9

"Meet the Press with David Gregory" was the top-rated Sunday morning public affairs hour for December 9, 2012, according to Nielsen Media Research data.

"Meet the Press" attracted 3.019 million total viewers, leading This Week by +366,000, the Face the Nation hour by +594,000, and FOX News Sunday by +1,798,000.

MTP delivered an additional 1,251,000 total viewers and 546,000 A25-54 viewers with rebroadcasts -- 587,000 total viewers and 345,000 viewers A25-54 on the network, and 664,000 total viewers and 201,000 viewers A25-54 on MSNBC.

In Washington, DC, MTP averaged 78,000 total viewers (3.1/8 HH), +86% ahead of both FOX News Sunday's (1.6/4) and the Face The Nation hour's (1.5/4) 42,000 viewers and +105% more than This Week's 38,000 viewers (1.4/4 HH).

Highlights:

-MTP led This Week by +14% (+366,000), the Face the Nation hour by +34% (+594,000), and FOX News Sunday by +147% (+1,798,000).

-In homes, MTP delivered a 2.3 rating and 6 share, ahead of This Week's 1.8/5, the Face the Nation hour's 1.8/4, and FOX News Sunday's 0.8/2.

-In rating A25-54, MTP delivered a 0.6 rating, +1 tenth more than This Week and the Face the Nation hour, and +3 tenths more than FOX News Sunday.

-MTP averaged 781,000 A25-54 (000) viewers, +6% (+45,000) ahead of This Week, +17% (+115,000) ahead of the Face the Nation hour, and +67% (+314,000) ahead of FOX News Sunday.

Sunday's edition of Meet the Press featured an update from NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel inside Syria; a discussion with New York Times White House correspondent Helene Cooper and The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg; a debate between Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and House Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA); and a roundtable conversation with Cooper, Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Bloomberg White House Correspondent Julianna Goldman, Washington Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward; and MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell.

David Gregory is the moderator of "Meet the Press." Betsy Fischer Martin is the executive producer, Adam Verdugo is the senior producer, and Chris Donovan and Ilana Marcus Drimmer are producers.

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