Nightly News Ranks #1 among A25-54 Viewers for 17 Consecutive Months
The NBC News Broadcast Posts Biggest Non-Olympics Audience since January and Grows +8% from Previous Week
NEW YORK (November 30, 2016) – “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” ranked #1 across the board for the week of November 21, averaging 9.6 million total viewers, leading “ABC World News Tonight” by +391,000 (+4%) viewers and “CBS Evening News” by 1.6 million viewers (+20%). Nightly News’s audience increased by +8% (+726,000 viewers) over the previous week and its lead over ABC was +37% higher than the same week last season (+391,000 vs. +286,000 last year).
The NBC News broadcast posted its biggest non-Olympics audience since the week of January 18, 2016 and its widest non-Olympics advantage over ABC since the week of April 18, 2016. On Friday, November 25, Nightly News drew 10.6 million viewers, its largest single-day audience since January 25 (excluding the Olympics).
The NBC News broadcast also won the month of November 2016 across the board. Among total viewers, Nightly News has won 15 of the 17 months since Lester Holt started anchoring, while winning all 17 months among A25-54 and A18-49 viewers.
Nightly News continues its dominance in the demo, averaging 2.2 million A25-54 viewers for the week, leading ABC by +267,000 (+14%) and CBS by +385,000 (+22%). The NBC News broadcast improved its demo lead over ABC by +17% from the previous week (+267,000 vs. +228,000). Among A18-49, Nightly News averaged 1.6 million viewers for the week, topping ABC by +194,000 (+14%) and CBS by + 316,000 (+25%). The NBC News broadcast has ranked #1 in A25-54 and A18-49 for 69 of the last 70 weeks.
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, Nightly News is based on a three-day average (Monday, Tuesday, Friday) while CBS and ABC are based on two-day averages (Monday and Tuesday).
Nightly News was one of four NBC News broadcasts to finish the recent November sweep period ranked #1 among the key A25-54 and A18-49 demos, joining “TODAY,” “Meet the Press” and “Dateline.” It’s the first time all four NBC News broadcasts accomplished the feat since 2002.
Weekly Highlights:
- Nightly News ranked #1 across the board, averaging 9.6 million total viewers, leading “ABC World News Tonight” by +391,000 (+4%) viewers and “CBS Evening News” by 1.6 million viewers (+20%).
- Nightly News averaged 2.174 million A25-54 viewers, outperforming ABC by +267,000 (+14%) and CBS by +385,000 (+22%).
- Nightly News has ranked #1 in A25-54 and A18-49 for 69 of the past 70 weeks.
- Nightly News averaged 1.6 million A18-49 viewers, topping ABC by +194,000 (+14%) and CBS by +316,000 (+25%).
November Highlights:
- Nightly News ranked #1 across the board for the month of November 2016.
- Nightly News is #1 in total viewers for 15 of the 17 months since Lester Holt started anchoring.
- Nightly News is #1 among A25-54 for 17 consecutive months.
- Nightly News is #1 among A18-49 for 19 consecutive months and 109 of the last 110 months.
Season Highlights:
- Nightly News is having its best A25-54 advantages to start a season over ABC and CBS in three years (2013-14).
- Versus last season, Nightly News has increased its A25-54 lead over ABC by 43% (+243,000 vs +170,000 last year).
Week of November 21 – November 25, 2016:
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| NBC | 9.609 | 1.81 | 2.174 | 1.25 | 1.600 |
| CBS | 8.004 | 1.49 | 1.789 | 1.00 | 1.284 |
| ABC | 9.218 | 1.59 | 1.907 | 1.10 | 1.406 |
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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.
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For more information contact:
Jake Urbanski
NBC News
212-664-3211
