NEW YORK—Opinion polls are one thing, but Nielsen numbers speak more loudly to television executives: Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s ability to pull in viewers makes him catnip for news programs and wins a level of coverage that feeds on itself.
NBC’s “Meet the Press” had its biggest audience in more than a year for its Trump interview on Aug. 16, leading that show’s biggest competitors — ABC’s “This Week” and CBS' “Face the Nation” — to feature phone interviews with the New York businessman this past Sunday.
