World News Tonight marks another week at No. 1, increases margin of victory
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All three of the network’s evening newscasts drew viewers from the previous week, according to Nielsen’s live and same-day data.
ABC World News tonight with David Muir remains at the top of the evening news food chain, averaging more than 7.56 million total viewers and 1.32 million adults 25-54 for the week of July 25. The 7.56 million figure means World News Tonight is the most-watched show on US television—excluding sports and syndication—for the week. Additionally, ABC’s evening news has now beaten competitors NBC and CBS 191 of the last 192 weeks in average total viewership and 120 of the last 122 weeks in adults 25-54.
More positives: World News Tonight not only remains No. 1, it also posted its largest total viewership in six weeks and the largest A25-54 viewership in seven weeks. It gained +3% in total viewers and +12% in the adult 25-54 demo compared to the previous week (July 18). In contrast, World News Tonight lost less than -1% of total viewers and -8% among adults 25-54 compared to the comparable week of 2021 (July 26).
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt with an average of 6.21 million total viewers on the linear network, up 1% from the previous week, and 952,000 adults aged 25-54, up 5% from the previous week. The 6.21 million figure places airplay at No. 3 in US television, excluding specials, sports and syndication. Nightly News saw the largest year-over-year declines of the three evening newscasts, -13% in total viewers and -36% among adults 25-54. This bad trend makes sense given that the week a year ago was also week #1 of the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics airing on NBC.
The CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell an average of 4.64 million total viewers and 752,000 adults aged 25 to 54 for the week of July 25. That’s +1% in total viewers and less than +1% in adults 25-54 from the previous week. Evening News lost -4% in total viewers and -13% among adults aged 25-54 compared to the comparable week in 2021.
Nielsen live plus same-day averages for the week of July 25, 2022:
| ABC | NBC | SCS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total number of viewers: | 7,564,000 | 6,207,000 | 4,642,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,318,000 | 952,000 | 752,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 Live + SD Current Week (without 07/25/22), Last Week (without 07/18/22) and Week One Year Ago (with or 07/26/21). The most recent: season 2021-2022 (20/09/21 – 31/07/22) and season 2020-2021 (21/09/20 – 01/08/21). Nielsen ratings for ABC, NBC and CBS include additional airings in select markets. As of 8/31/20, the national rankings also include out-of-home viewing (OOH). Averages based on regular telecasts.