In news that comes as a surprise to absolutely no one, NBC’s “Meet the Press,” hosted by Democratic Party lickspittle Chuck Todd, has slumped to its worst ratings since he took over the captain’s chair.

The longest-running show in television history (debuting in 1947) reported its lowest ratings ever in the recent April-May-June quarter, according to an exclusive report from Radar. The show has fallen far from the seat it once held atop all other Sunday news programs, most recently during the years 2016-2020, a time when former President Trump provided ratings gold for left-wing outlets and kept pseudo-journalists gainfully employed.

“Over the last six years, we’ve always approached ‘Meet the Press’ as more than just a Sunday show and I view our ratings success, in part, on our ability to reach people where they are and not just hoping they find us. This has been one of the most challenging years for everyone and that includes this incredible team and I couldn’t be prouder,” moderator Chuck Todd told TheWrap in December of 2020.

In recent Nielsen Media Research ratings, however, the show’s following has dropped to a measly 2.4 million, slicing off a third of Todd’s viewership, most notably in the key demographic of viewers aged 25-54. He logged only 492,000 viewers in that group for the most recent quarter, far below the routinely acquired 1.2 million viewers in that demographic alone, part of a once-consistent four million viewers overall.

In May, Todd and his show “Meet the Press Daily” were demoted from MSNBC to the network’s new streaming platform “NBC News NOW,” a move that – if Chris Wallace and CNN+ can be seen as a cautionary tale – is essentially hospice care for shows that people once watched on traditional cable outlets.

NBC News President Noah Oppenheim revealed in May that not only will Todd’s show move solely to streaming on NBC News NOW, but that his program’s name will also be changed to “Meet the Press Now.”

“NBC News is the leader in streaming news,” Oppenheim told Radar at the time. “Since our launch, we’ve been committed to delivering the best of NBC News’ journalism, free, to streaming audiences everywhere.”

“Chuck was one of the first broadcast anchors to see the massive potential of streaming and bringing Meet the Press’s daily franchise to NBC News NOW reinforces the platform’s status as the destination for news on streaming,” he added.

“This does not augur well for Chuck,” an unnamed industry insider told the outlet in light of the massive ratings slump. “Chuck lost his gig at MSNBC and the guise that he’d rather leave MSNBC completely and focus on Meet the Press on Sunday.”

“But when you are focusing on the Sunday show and it is in freefall, perhaps you have to consider whether it is you and not the show itself that is driving viewers away.”

“NBC News Chairman Cesar Conde must really be concerned. This is like David Gregory all over again.”

Gregory was Todd’s predecessor as the host of “Meet The Press” and was fired after six years in 2014, having presided over the show’s worst ratings in 21 years.

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Frank Webster

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Frank (Chip) Webster is a musician and composer, former teacher of percussion and U.S. Army Infantry veteran. He holds a degree in English from Arizona State University.

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