‘Matter of Fact’ Expands Coverage To 85%

Hearst Television’s weekly political magazine show Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien has grown its reach this week to 85% coverage of the United States

 Hearst says the show’s average weekly audience has also seen rapid growth, nearly tripling since its first-season launch. “In Hearst TV markets, the show outperforms every broadcast TV Sunday morning political show with the exception of Meet the Press in the adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 demographics, and it delivers more viewers than every weekend political show on cable.”

“Matter of Fact viewers are clearly more interested in watching people converse rationally, using facts to further their point of view, rather than watching divisive rhetoric,” said O’Brien. “Our new stations pursue stories and topics that affect millions of Americans which are so often under-reported — crucial issues like the opioid epidemic, veterans’ needs and post-traumatic stress, immigration, gerrymandering and health care.”

This week, the show added NBC-owned stations in New York, San Francisco and Hartford, Conn. In New York, the show moved to NBC’s WNBC, Sundays at 5:30 a.m., leading into its Sunday morning newscast. In San Francisco, Matter of Fact is airing on KNTV, Sundays at 5 a.m. The show also has entered the Hartford market on WVIT, Sundays at 5 a.m.  

In Denver, Matter of Fact has a new home on Tribune Media’s KDVR, where it premiered Sunday, April 2, at 11:30 p.m., and in fall 2017 it will have a new home in Indianapolis on Dispatch Broadcast Group’s WTHR and will enter Nashville on Scripps’ WTVF.

With the additions of the new stations, Matter of Fact, produced by Hearst Television and distributed by Sony Pictures Television, will air on 123 stations, including 28 of the top 30 TV markets. The new stations that began airing the show last Sunday contributed to 7.5% audience growth vs. the prior weekend in all Nielsen-metered markets and 36% growth in the non-Hearst TV markets that are metered, according to Hearst.