ABC World News Tonight with David Muir was the only evening newscast to enjoy week-to-week gains in the advertiser-coveted Adults 25-54 demo for the week of May 15. All newscasts experienced declines in total viewers, while NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell also saw drops in the demo.
WNT maintained its edge as the most-watched newscast in all of broadcast and cable in both measured categories. That extends its reign to 285 out of 286 weeks in total viewers and 213 of the last 216 weeks in the A25-54 demo.
World News Tonight averaged 7.192 million total viewers for the week of May 13, a drop of -1% from the week before. While it remained below the million viewers mark in the demo with 988,000 viewers, it enjoyed a +1% gain compared to last week. Looking at its performance alongside the same week in 2023 (the week beginning May 15), WNT was down in both categories by -3% and -12%, respectively.
Nightly News was second in total viewers and the A25-54 demo this past week, averaging 5.794 million viewers and 785,000 viewers in those respective categories. That’s a -2% drop in total viewers and a -6% drop in the demo compared to the prior week. Compared to its 2023 performance, Nightly News was down in both total viewers and the demo by -1% and -10%, respectively.
CBS Evening News ranked as No. 3 newscast last week, with 4.281 million total viewers and 612,000 in the A25-54 demo. That’s a week-to-week drop of -1% and -2%, respectively. The newscast was flat in total viewers and down -2% in the demo compared to its 2023 performance.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day averages for the week of May 13, 2024:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 7,192,000 | 5,794,000 | 4,281,000 |
| • A25-54: | 988,000 | 785,000 | 612,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 5/13/24), Previous Week (w/o 05/06/24) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 5/15/23). Most Current Data Stream: 2023-2024 Season (9/25/23 – 5/12/24) and 2022-2023 Season (9/19/22 – 5/8/23). Nielsen ratings for ABC, NBC and CBS include additional airings in select markets. Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.