| This Week | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Public affairs/news analysis program |
| Created by | Roone Arledge |
| Presented by | |
| Narrated by | Charles Gibson (2012–2014) |
| Theme music composer | Score Productions (1981–2011) DreamArtists Studios (2011–present) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 41 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | ABC News Washington Bureau,Washington, D.C. (1981–2008, 2014–present) Newseum, Washington, D.C. (2008–2013) ABC News Headquarters,New York City (2011–present) |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Production company | ABC News Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | November 15, 1981 (1981-11-15) – present |
| Related | |
| Issues and Answers | |
This Week, originally titled asThis Week with David Brinkley and billed asThis Week with George Stephanopoulos since 2012, is an AmericanSunday morning political affairs program airing onABC.[3] It premiered on November 15, 1981, replacingIssues and Answers withDavid Brinkley as its original anchor until his retirement in 1996. The program has been anchored byGeorge Stephanopoulos since 2012, after first hosting it from 2002 to 2010.Martha Raddatz andJonathan Karl have been co-hosts since 2016 and 2021, respectively.[2][4][5] The program airs live at 9:00 a.m.Eastern Time although many stations air the program at a later slot to air local newscasts, especially those in other time zones. During the David Brinkley era, the program drew consistent #1 ratings and in Stephanopolous era generally runs in third place among the Sunday morning talk shows, behindMeet the Press andFace the Nation.
In 1960, ABC launched its first Sunday talk showIssues and Answers, which featured policy discussions, prior to the age of political pundits dominating the talk shows. One of its early hosts wasHoward K. Smith, who also had his own prime-timepublic affairs programHoward K. Smith: News and Comment air on the network during the 1962–1963 season. Among the program's later hosts wasBob Clark.
On November 15, 1981,David Brinkley came to the network fromNBC News and was given full responsibility for the show, which was relaunched asThis Week with a network time slot at 10:30 AM Eastern Time. During Brinkley's run, three major sponsors were part of the show:General Electric (which departed after taking control onNBC in 1987),Archer Daniels Midland andMerrill Lynch.
On November 10, 1996, David Brinkley retired as host ofThis Week but continued to appear on the program providing commentary segments until September 28, 1997.[6] Following Brinkley's retirement, ABC News journalistsSam Donaldson andCokie Roberts subsequently became co-hosts ofThis Week. Since 1981, the names of the primary anchors have been included with the show's title, such asThis Week with David Brinkley and during this era, the program was billed asThis Week with Sam Donaldson & Cokie Roberts (orThis Week with Sam & Cokie).[7]
Longtime panelistGeorge Stephanopoulos became the new host ofThis Week on September 15, 2002;[8] he ended his first tenure with the program on January 10, 2010, shortly after being named the co-host ofGood Morning America. ABC News Senior White House CorrespondentJake Tapper served as the interim anchor from March to July 2010.[9]
On April 20, 2008, production ofThis Week relocated to theNewseum inWashington, D.C., in a studio that overlooks theU.S. Capitol. In addition, the program began broadcasting inhigh definition, becoming the first Sunday morning talk show to broadcast in HD.[10] Following the transition, the program discontinued the segmentsImages andVoices. ABC andThis Week moved out of the Newseum in 2013 due to infrequent use of the studio and other facilities, with the former studio later being used for the Washington bureau of cable news channelAl Jazeera America.
Christiane Amanpour, a longtime world affairs correspondent atCNN, began as the program's host on August 1, 2010. During her first two months as host, the ratings forThis Week reached their lowest point since 2003. In December 2011, it was announced that Amanpour would step down as anchor of the program, while returning to CNN in turn.[11] On January 5, 2012, ABC News announced that Stephanopoulos would return as the host ofThis Week.[12] With the return of Stephanopoulos as moderator, the program began using formerGood Morning America andWorld News Tonight anchorCharles Gibson to perform the voice-over heard during the opening of each broadcast;[13] this lasted until 2014.
In 2016, Martha Raddatz was named co-anchor ofThis Week, alternating each weekend with Stephanopoulos.[2] By 2024,Donald Trump sued ABC over aThis Week interview, in which George Stephanopoulos said Trump had been found liable for "rape", though the technical jury determination inE. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump was for "sexual abuse". Though many lawyers thought ABC would win the suit due to the high legal bar for defamation of public figures, after Trump was elected president a second time, ABC settled and paid $15 to the Trump presidential library, $1 million in legal fees, and gave an apology.[14]
On April 7, 2025,This Week's New York–based editions moved to its new home in 7 Hudson Square sharing space withABC World News Tonight, 20/20, and special live event coverage for presidential elections, midterm elections, and other breaking news coverage.[15]
In February 2009, the ratings gap betweenMeet the Press and its competitors –This Week and CBS'Face the Nation – began closing.Meet the Press posted its lowest ratings since NBC News correspondentDavid Gregory became moderator in early February of that year, with the February 1 telecast averaging just 3.9 million viewers.Face the Nation averaged 3.33 million total viewers, whileThis Week came in just behind with 3.32 million.This Week beatMeet the Press on January 11, when George Stephanopoulos interviewed President-ElectBarack Obama.[16]
One of the key features ofThis Week is theroundtable discussion (currently branded asThe Powerhouse Roundtable), which included pundits such asGeorge Will and ABC News correspondents such asSam Donaldson andCokie Roberts, and other guests discussing the major issues of the week. Will, a regular panelist who was with the program from its launch with David Brinkley until he left ABC to joinFox News as a contributor in 2013,[17] sometimes contributed short reports to the broadcast.
After George Stephanopolous became host in 2002, new segments were added to the program including:
In 2010, Jake Tapper arranged with Bill Adair to getPolitiFact.com tofact check the statements made by panelists and guests featured onThis Week.[18]
The Roundtable typically includes three or four panelists along with the moderator. Recurring panelists have includedGeorge Will,Cokie Roberts,Sam Donaldson,Bill Kristol,Fareed Zakaria,Martha Raddatz,Peggy Noonan,Victoria Clarke,Donna Brazile,Ann Coulter,Paul Krugman,Jay Carney,Claire Shipman,E.J. Dionne, Jr.,Robert Reich,David Corn,Katrina vanden Heuvel,Mark Halperin,Joe Klein,Van Jones,David Brooks,Matthew Dowd,Mary Matalin,Ed Gillespie,Sarah Isgur andChris Christie.
ABC News programming, includingThis Week, is shown weekly on the 24-hour news networkOSN News in theMiddle Eastern/North Africa region. It also airs in Australia onSBS, in Japan onNHK BS 1.