A Sunday morning talk show is a television program with a news/talk/public affairs–hybrid format that is broadcast on Sunday mornings. This type of program originated in the United States, and has since been used in other countries.
Sunday morning talk shows by country
United States
English Program Host Network Debut Air Time ReplaysMeet the Press**Kristen WelkerNBC19479 a.m. ET*MSNBC, NBC News NOW, SiriusXM POTUS,SiriusXM to Air "Meet the Press", Press Release Westwood One, C-SPAN Radio, Bloomberg RadioFace the Nation**Margaret BrennanCBS195410:30 a.m. ET*CBS Radio Network, CBS News, C-SPAN Radio, Bloomberg RadioThis Week**George Stephanopoulos/Martha Raddatz/Jonathan Karl(rotation)ABC1981This Week traces its history to Issues and Answers, which debuted in 1960.9 a.m. ET*ABC News Radio, ABC News Live, C-SPAN Radio, Bloomberg RadioFox News Sunday**Shannon BreamFox19969 a.m.*Fox News Channel, Fox News Radio, C-SPAN Radio, Bloomberg RadioState of the Union**Jake Tapper/Dana Bash(alternating weeks)CNN20099 a.m. ETC-SPAN Radio, Bloomberg RadioThe HillChris StirewaltNewsNation202410 a.m. ETThe CW, Nexstar local stations
(*) - time listed is the time scheduled by the network, local affiliates may delay the show to later slots to accommodate local news or other programming
(**) - considered the traditional "big five" Sunday shows
Spanish
Program Host Network DebutAl PuntoJorge RamosUnivision2007Enfoque con José Díaz-BalartJosé Díaz-BalartTelemundo2010
Other English language examples include NBC's syndicated The Chris Matthews Show, Bloomberg Television's Political Capital with Al Hunt,Reilly, Daniel W. Sunday morning tip sheet. Politico. the PBS roundtables (often broadcast other days than Sunday) This is America with Dennis Wholey, Washington Week, and Inside Washington,Sunday Show Preview. Mediabistro.com and the originally PBS, later commercially syndicated The McLaughlin Group.McLaughlin takes heat for 'Oreo' comment. CNN. 14 July 2008. Longtime Washington talk-show host John McLaughlin is facing fire Monday for referring to Barack Obama as an "Oreo" during a segment on his Sunday political program, The McLaughlin Group.Informal discussion: "PBS Friday Night Talk Show Lineup Vs. Sunday Morning Talk Show Lineup" FishbowlDC includes all the shows listed in Daniel W. Reilly's definition for Politico'''s "Sunday Morning Tip Sheet," plus CN8's Roll Call TV with Robert Traynham and other programs, including CNN's Reliable Sources, Fareed Zakaria GPS, Beyond the Politics with William Bennett and POTUS08's Post Politics Program used to be listed in this category but are no longer considered so. C-SPAN's Newsmakers, TV One's Washington Watch,Munsil, Leigh. "Sunday talk show tip sheet." Politico. Hearst Television's Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien,Heil, EmIly (August 15, 2016). Hearst TV re-launches Sunday political show hosted by Soledad O’Brien. The Washington Post. Retrieved August 15, 2016. Gray Television's Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren, Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures, and (until Tim Russert's 2008 death) MSNBC's Tim Russert Show among several others.
C-SPAN Radio provides a commercial-free rebroadcast of all five shows in rapid succession, beginning at 12 noon Eastern. Other radio stations rebroadcast some of the shows with commercials on Sunday afternoons.
Many local television stations (both commercial and non-commercial) also produce their own programs that air in this time frame, generally focusing on local or state politics rather than national issues, and may play off the title of the network shows, such as Hartford, Connecticut's WFSB-TV, a CBS affiliate which titles their weekly program dealing with state and local issues Face the State, a title also seen on KTVN in Reno/Carson City, Nevada and WHP-TV in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, all of which serve state capital cities. Station groups may also syndicate programming to air on affiliates within a state, such as Inside California Politics for Nexstar-owned stations in California, Inside Texas Politics for Tegna-owned stations in Texas, and WISN-TV's Upfront in Milwaukee, which is syndicated to a network of Wisconsin's ABC affiliates by WISN owner Hearst Television. The member stations of PBS also often produce their state/local political affairs programming to air on Friday nights as a lead-out of Washington Week.
Characteristics of guests
The prominent guests appearing on these programs include U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, state governors, candidates for President and Vice president, cabinet secretaries, White House officials, and directors of federal agencies. U.S. military leaders, ambassadors, and religious leaders as well as prominent journalists and commentators. Members of prominent think tanks such as Brookings, Center for American Progress, AEI, Cato, Hoover, and Heritage also are often invited to appear on the Sunday morning talk shows.
Various studies have criticized the shows for inviting predominantly white male guests. A study of the three shows on ABC, CBS and NBC from 1997 to 2005 found that the balance between Republicans and Democrats was fairly equal (52% Republicans), 61% of the journalists on the shows were conservative during the Clinton administration and that rose to 69% when George W. Bush's was president. In 2010, a study found that a relatively small number of senior senators, all of whom were white males, accounted for the majority of all Congressional guests on the five most popular shows. In 2021, the Women's Media Center published a study that showed overall 70% of the guests were male.
Australia Currently, only two Sunday morning political programs exist in Australia - Insiders on the ABC and Sunday Agenda on Sky News Australia. Former shows include Network Ten's Meet the Press (1992–2013), Nine Network's Sunday (1981–2008), The Bolt Report (2011–2015) and Speers on Sunday on Sky News Australia (2018–2019). The Bolt Report became a nightly primetime show in 2016. The three free-to-air commercial broadcasters air general morning news programs Weekend Sunrise (Seven), Weekend Today (Nine) and Studio 10 (Ten) which include some political coverage.
Program Network Airs Host(s) Debut EndingInsidersABCABC News 249am10am (AEST/AEDT)David Speers15 July 2001still airingSunday AgendaSky News Australia8am AEST/AEDTKieran Gilbert and Andrew Clennell 2016 - still airingSundayNine Network7:30amJim Waley Jana Wendt Ellen Fanning and Ross Greenwood Ellen Fanning and Ray Martin Ellen Fanning 15 November 19813 August 2008Meet the Press Network Ten8am 10:30am David Johnston Paul Bongiorno Deborah Knight Hugh Riminton Kathryn Robinson October 1992November 2013Sunday AgendaSky News Live8:30am9:30am (AEST/AEDT)David Speers Peter van Onselen Kristina Keneally 4 July 201024 December 2017The Bolt ReportNetwork Ten10amAndrew Bolt8 May 201129 November 2015
Note
Canada Program Network Airs Hosts Debut EndingLes Coulisses du pouvoirIci Radio-Canada TéléIci RDI11amDaniel Lessard (-2011)Emmanuelle Latraverse (2012–2017)Daniel Thibeault (2017–present)Global SundayGlobalCharles Adler (2001–02)Danielle Smith (2003–05)20012005Question PeriodCTV11am (Eastern Canada)4pm (Western Canada)Bruce Phillips (1968–1985)Pamela Wallin (1985–1992)Craig Oliver (1992–2012)Edward Greenspon (2001–2002)John Ibbitson (2002–2004)Mike Duffy (2004–2005)Jane Taber (2005–2011)Kevin Newman (2011–2013)Robert Fife (2013–2016)Evan Solomon (2016–2022)Vassy Kapelos (2022–present)1967Rosemary Barton LiveCBC TelevisionCBC News Network10amRosemary Barton2020Sunday EditionBBS → CTVMike Duffy19881999The Sunday ScrumCBC News NetworkNancy WilsonBen ChinCarole MacNeilReshmi NairAsha TomlinsonJohn Northcott2000s2020The Weekly with Wendy MesleyCBC TelevisionCBC News NetworkWendy Mesley"Wendy Mesley to host live CBC talk show on Sunday mornings". Toronto Star, July 27, 2017.20182020The West BlockGlobal10am (Alberta, British Columbia)11am (Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec)12 noon (Atlantic Canada)Tom Clark (2011–2016)Vassy Kapelos (2017–2018)Mercedes Stephenson (2018–2025)Ben Mulroney (2025-2026)Jeff Semple (2026-present)2011"CTV's Question Period to face competition". Toronto Star, September 9, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2022
Similar programming to Sunday morning talk shows are aired on other days in Canada, including: CBC Radio One airs a Saturday morning political talk show, The House, currently hosted by Catherine Cullen. CBC News Network airs the weekday daily political talk show Power & Politics, currently hosted by David Cochrane. CTV News Channel airs the weekday daily political talk show Power Play, currently hosted by Vassy Kapelos.
New Zealand Currently, only two Sunday morning political programs exist in New Zealand - Q+A and Marae on TVNZ 1. Former shows include Three's Newshub Nation and TVNZ's Agenda.
Programme Hosts Network Airs DebutEndingQ+AJack TameTVNZ 19am10am2009still airingMaraeMiriama Kamo, Scotty MorrisonTVNZ 110.30 am11 am1992still airingAgendaRawdon ChristieTVNZ 110 am11 am19992009Newshub NationSimon Shepherd, Rebecca WrightThree10 am11 am2010 2023
United Kingdom Similar practice occurs in the UK, in the form of shows such as The Andrew Marr Show on the BBC and Sunday Live with Adam Boulton on Sky News. However, these shows have a somewhat-broader range, often interviewing figures from the arts, popular entertainment, and sports in addition to political leaders, similar in format to CBS News Sunday Morning in the United States. The first such Sunday show in Britain was Weekend World, which was produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network from 1972 to 1988.
Programme Host Network EndingNotesThe Andrew Marr ShowAndrew MarrBBC One19 December 2021Sunday PoliticsSarah Smith and regional presentersBBC One24 July 2018Sunday MorningRotating guest presentersBBC OneOctober 2022Politics Englandregional presentersBBC One The working title of 13 English regions who produce their own programmes on air styled as for example Politics South West Politics Walesregional presentersBBC One WalesPolitics Northern Irelandregional presentersBBC One Northern Ireland & BBC One Ireland Styled as Politics Region BBC News VariousBBC News (UK feed)BBC News (international feed) & BBC One (In August & Christmas) Sunday with Laura KuenssbergLaura KuenssbergBBC OneBBC News (UK feed)BBC News (international feed) (Occasionally)Sunday Morning Live Sean Fletcher & Holly Hamilton BBC Onereligious and current affairs discussion programme. The Sunday ShowFiona Stalker and Martin GeisslerBBC One ScotlandBBC Radio ScotlandPeston on SundayRobert PestonITV27 May 2018Sophy Ridge on SundaySophy RidgeSky NewsThe Camilla Tominey ShowCamilla TomineyGB News
Japan There are several political Sunday morning talk shows in Japan, most are often broadcast live from studios in Tokyo (Nichiyō Tōron: Kioichō, Shin Hōdō 2001: Daiba, Sunday Frontline: Roppongi), Jiji Hōdan is usually prerecorded on Friday evening.Nichiyō Tōron by public broadcaster NHK often features one politician from every party represented in the National Diet, in many cases the parties' Diet Affairs Council Chairmen. The latter was generally the case with Kokkai Tōronkai ("Diet forum"), one of several alternating NHK talk shows about political and economic issues sharing the same Sunday morning programming slot before they were replaced by Nichiyō Tōron'' in 1994. It had initially been a NHK radio talk show and was simultaneously broadcast on television starting in the 1950s.
Program Network Airs Hosts Debut WebsiteNichiyō Tōron("Sunday debate")NHK9am10amToshio Shimada, Yasuhiro Kashina1947 (as Kokkai Tōronkai, radio)/1957 (on television)/1994 (unified a range of several similar shows)("Current affairs talk")TBS6am6:45amTakashi Mikuriya, Kanae Takeuchi1957–1992/2004TV Asahi/ANN10am11:45amEtsuko Komiya1987 (as Sunday Morning)/1989 (as Sunday Project)/2010("New 'Hōdō 2001'")Fuji TVTetsuo Suda, Kei Yoshida1992 (as Hōdō 2001, "Report 2001")/2008