April 2016 Marks Biggest Monthly Total Viewers Win since December 2015
NEW YORK (April 26, 2016) – “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” ranked #1 across-the-board for the week of April 18-22, 2016 and delivered its largest total viewers lead over ABC in four weeks. America’s most-watched evening newscast averaged 8.146 million total viewers for the week, outperforming ABC by +442,000 (+6%) and CBS by +1.416 million viewers (+21%).
The NBC broadcast topped the competition every night last week in all key demos, during a noteworthy week for anchor Lester Holt. He anchored live from the Middle East on Monday night following an exclusive interview with Defense Secretary Carter in Iraq; anchored from New York City on Tuesday during the New York primary; anchored from San Francisco after an exclusive trip to Alphabet’s X Moonshot Factory; and anchored from Los Angeles on Friday.
For April 2016, Nightly won its 10th consecutive month in total viewers and A25-54, while claiming its 12th straight month among A18-49 viewers. The total viewer margin (+370,000) marked Nightly’s largest win over ABC since December 2015.
Nightly has been #1 in total viewers for 11 consecutive weeks and 41 of the 44 weeks since Holt was named anchor. Among the A25-54 and A18-49 demos, the NBC broadcast has been ranked #1 for 39 consecutive weeks. Season-to-date, Nightly is the #1 evening news program in total viewers, A25-54 and A18-49 viewers.
Weekly Highlights:
- Nightly averaged 8.146 million total viewers, outperforming ABC by +442,000 (+6%) and CBS by +1.416 million (+21%).
- Nightly averaged 1.853 million A25-54 viewers, outperforming ABC by +148,000 (+9%) and CBS by +334,000 (+22%)
- Nightly averaged 1.337 million A18-49 viewers, topping ABC by +135,000 (+11%) and CBS by +316,000 (+31%)
- Versus the same week last season, Nightly was the only evening newscast to increase in total viewers (+1%, or +49,000).
- For the sixth straight week, Nightly topped ABC by at least 250,000 viewers.
- The NBC broadcast is #1 in A25-54 and A18-49 viewers for 39 consecutive weeks.
Season-to-Date:
- Season-to-date, Nightly is the #1 evening news program in total viewers, A25-54 viewers and A18-49 viewers.
- Nightly averages 8.936 million total viewers, +278,000 (+3%) ahead of ABC and +1.513 million (+20%) more than CBS
- Nightly averages 2.169 million A25-54 viewers, leading ABC by +199,000 (+10%) and CBS by +448,000 (+26%).
- Nightly is the only evening news program with year-over-year growth among A25-54 viewers (+2,000).
- Nightly has widened its A25-54 lead vs. ABC by 190,000 viewers versus last season (+199,000 lead this season vs. a +9,000 lead this time last year).
- Nightly averages 1.567 million A18-49 viewers, outperforming ABC by +199,000 (+15%) and CBS by +396,000 (+34%)
- Nightly has improved its A18-49 advantage over ABC by 93% versus last season (vs. a +103,000 lead last season).
Week of April 18-22, 2016:
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| NBC | 8.146 | 1.56 | 1.853 | 1.05 | 1.337 |
| CBS | 6.730 | 1.28 | 1.519 | 0.80 | 1.021 |
| ABC | 7.704 | 1.44 | 1.705 | 0.95 | 1.202 |
For more information contact:
Jake Urbanski
NBC News
o: (212) 664-3211
c: (646) 823-2133
e: jake.urbanski@nbcuni.com
# # #
ABOUT NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH LESTER HOLT
“NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” is America’s most-watched evening newscast, going beyond the day’s headlines to uncover stories of how people’s lives are affected by the world around them. “NBC Nightly News” reaches over 24 million people every week through its broadcast and millions more through NBCNews.com, the “Nightly News” app, and social media platforms. Lester Holt is the anchor and Sam Singal is the executive producer.
# # #
