“NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH LESTER HOLT” IS #1 FOR SECOND STRAIGHT WEEK, DELIVERS BIGGEST WIN OVER ABC OF 2015

NBC Broadcast Soars Over ABC by Almost 1 Million Viewers, Nearly Tripling Lead Week-to-Week

Nightly’s Season-to-Date Demo Average Rises Back to Tie with ABC

JULY 8, 2015 – “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” was #1 across the board for the second straight week, increasing its audiences and widening its advantages over the competition in all categories compared to the prior week.

The NBC broadcast topped ABC’s “World News Tonight” by almost 1 million viewers (+951,000), nearly tripling its lead week-to-week (vs. 326k) and marking its biggest total viewer win over ABC of 2015 (since week of 12/22/2014). Nightly has now won 7 of the last 10 weeks among total viewers.

Nightly also delivered its biggest A25-54 and A18-49 audiences since March (since 3/23 and 3/2, respectively) and significantly widened its lead over the competition in both demos week-to-week.  Nightly delivered its best A25-54 advantage over ABC in nearly six months (since 1/5/2015) and over CBS in three months (since 3/23/2015).

Nightly posted the biggest gains among the network newscasts week-to-week, increasing in total viewers (+5%, or +401,000), A25-54 viewers (+3%, or +61,000), and A18-49 viewers (+4%, or +58,000).  ABC declined across the board week-to-week.

Versus the 2Q’15 averages, Nightly posted gains in total viewers (+8%, or +659,000), A18-49 viewers (+16%, or +201,000), and A25-54 viewers (+11%, or +209,000).  ABC was down in all measures vs. 2Q.

Nightly was also up in all categories compared to the same week last season, posting increases in total viewers (+12%, or +894,000), A18-49 viewers (+24%, or +286,000), and A25-54 viewers (+17%, or +299,000).

Season-to-date, Nightly is #1 in both total viewers and A18-49, and is now tied with ABC in the A25-54 demo.

Note: All three broadcasts are based on a four-day average (Mon-Thurs) due to the July 4th holiday.

Weekly Highlights:            

• Nightly averaged 8.449 million total viewers, +951,000 (+13%) more than ABC World News Tonight and +1,712,000 (25%) ahead of CBS Evening News.
• This marks Nightly’s largest total viewer audience since the week of 3/23/15, biggest victory over ABC since 12/22/14 and biggest victory over CBS since 3/23/15.
• Nightly averaged 2.031 million A25-54 viewers, leading ABC by +245,000 (+14%) and CBS by +521,000 (+35%).
• This marks Nightly’s best A25-54 viewer delivery since the week of 3/23/15, biggest victory over ABC since 1/5/15 and biggest victory over CBS since 3/23/15.
• Nightly delivered a 1.7 A25-54 rating, +2 tenths more than ABC and +4 tenths more than CBS.
• Nightly averaged 1.490 million A18-49 viewers, leading ABC by +227,000 (+18%) and CBS by +460,000 (+45%).
• This marks Nightly’s best A18-49 delivery since the week of 3/2/15, biggest victory over ABC since 2/2/15 and biggest victory over CBS since 3/2/15.
• Nightly delivered a 1.2 A18-49 rating, +2 tenths ahead of ABC and +4 tenths more than CBS.

Season-to-Date Highlights:

• Nightly is averaging 8.801 million total viewers, outperforming ABC by +4% (+347,000) and CBS by +24% (1.679 million).
• Nightly is averaging 2.089 million A25-54 viewers this season, tied for #1 with ABC and leading CBS by +26% (+425,000).
• Nightly is averaging 1.499 million A18-49 viewers this season, leading ABC by +6% (+86,000) and CBS by +33% (+371,000).

WEEK OF JUNE 29 – JULY 3, 2015

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