NBC News’ good vibes kept rolling from the morning into the evening for the week of April 29. Like its AM counterpart, Today, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt was the only one of the three nightly shows to see week-to-week growth in total viewers and in the Adults 25-54 demo. In the latter category, though, it did share the spoils with the CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell, which also enjoyed a demo bump.
Even with those gains, ABC News’ World News Tonight with David Muir remained the most-watched evening news broadcast in both measured categories. The show’s reign has now stretched to 283 out of 284 weeks in total viewers and 211 of the last 214 weeks in the advertiser-coveted demo.
(NOTE: WNT’s numbers are based on a 4-day average due to American Idol airing live on Monday, 4/29.)
World News Tonight averaged 7.233 million total viewers for the week, and 1.002 million viewers in the A25-54 demo. That’s a -4% drop in both categories compared to the previous week, the only newscast to register declines among total viewers and in the demo. Looking back to the same week in 2023 (the week of May 1), WNT was down in total viewers by -5% and by -11% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News placed second in both measured categories this past week, averaging 6.010 million total viewers and 826,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo. That’s a +1% gain in total viewers and +6% demo gain compared to the prior week. The week-to-week gap between Nightly News and WNT shrank by 23% in total viewers and 33% in the demo—the narrowest margin in five weeks. But compared to 2023, Nightly News saw declines in both total viewers and the demo, dropping by –1 % and -5%, respectively.
CBS Evening News was the No. 3 newscast with 4.246 million total viewers and 620,000 in the A25-54 demo. That’s a -4% drop in the former category, but a +2% gain in the latter. Placed alongside its 2023 performance, the program fell by -9% and -11% in total viewers and the demo, respectively.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day averages for the week of April 29, 2024:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 7,233,000 | 6,010,000 | 4,246,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,002,000 | 826,000 | 620,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 4/29/24), Previous Week (w/o 4/22/24) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 4/24/23). Most Current Data Stream: 2023-2024 Season (9/25/23–5/5/24) and 2022-2023 Season (9/19/22–4/30/23). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.