World News Tonight is the most-watched evening newscast for 184 of the past 185 weeks
According to Nielsen live and same-day data, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir averaged 7.72 million total viewers and 1.38 million adults 25-54 for the week of June 6, again making it the most-watched show (by total viewers) listen)) on US television, excluding sports and syndicated programming. Additionally, ABC’s evening news has now beaten competitors NBC and CBS 184 of the last 185 weeks in average viewers and 113 of the last 115 weeks in adults 25-54.
How did the TV news perform compared to comparable weeks? World News Tonight gained +4% in total viewers and +3% in the adults 25-54 demo of the week of May 30 shortened by the Memorial Day holiday. WNT also gained +2% in total viewers but lost -2% among adults 25 -54 in the same week of 2021 (June 7).
On Thursday, June 9, the network’s three evening newscasts were renamed due to live coverage of the January 6 Committee hearings regarding the attack on the United States Capitol. World News Tonight was also renamed “WNT-ABC” Wednesday and Friday due to Game 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals. These emissions are excluded from the weekly and seasonal averages. As a result, World News Tonight’s weekly averages are based on just two days (Monday, Tuesday).
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt averaged 6.11 million viewers on NBC last week, making it the 3rd most-watched program on all of television (excluding sports and syndie). The total average of 6.11 million viewers is up +1% from the previous week and less than +1% from the comparable week in 2021. NBC Nightly News also averaged 969,000 adults from 25 to 54 last week, or -1% compared to last week. previous week and -11% from what the broadcast drew the previous week.
Tom Lamas anchored Nightly News on Mondays and Savannah Guthrie anchored the newscast on Tuesday.
Additionally, on YouTube, full episodes of NBC Nightly News averaged 624,000 video views and 500,000 viewers last week. This is according to Adobe Analytics and partner portals; YouTube analytics portal.
The CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell averaged 4.61 million total viewers and 768,000 adults aged 25-54 for the week of June 6. This represents an increase of +7% in total viewers and +9% among adults 25-54 from the previous week. Compared to the week a year ago, Evening News lost -4% in total viewers and -13% among adults aged 25-54.
NBC and CBS evening news averages are based on four days (Monday-Wednesday, Friday).
Nielsen live plus same-day averages for the week of June 6, 2022:
| ABC | NBC | SCS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total number of viewers: | 7,717,000 | 6,109,000 | 4,613,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,379,000 | 969,000 | 768,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 Live + SD Current Week (without 6/6/22), Previous Week (without 5/30/22) and Week One Year Ago (with o 07 /06/21). The most recent: season 2021-2022 (20/09/21 – 12/06/22) and season 2020-2021 (21/09/20 – 13/06/21). Nielsen ratings for ABC, NBC and CBS include additional airings in select markets. As of 8/31/20, the national ratings also include out-of-home viewing (OOH). Averages based on regular telecasts.