Wins 21st Consecutive Season as a Broadcast in Demo Most Valued by News Advertisers
Double-Digit Landslide Season Win in Key Demo Over Competition, Now #1 for 27 Consecutive Months
Leads on Social Media, Breaks Ground as First Evening Broadcast to Facebook Livestream Show Across the Country
Season Featured Holt’s Historic Interview with Trump Immediately After Comey Firing
SEPT. 26, 2017 – NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt is the #1 most-watched evening broadcast for the 2016-2017 season in the demo valued most by news advertisers, winning its 21st consecutive season as a broadcast.
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt joins NBC News’ TODAY, Meet the Press with Chuck Todd and Dateline, as all four network news programs are #1 in the valued A25-54 demo for the second straight season.
Last night, Holt anchored the broadcast from San Juan, Puerto Rico, as the first network anchor on the ground covering the island’s devastation from Hurricane Maria. In the 2016-2017 broadcast season, Holt moderated the most-watched presidential debate in history and exclusively interviewed President Trump in May, the interview of record after the firing of FBI Director James Comey. Holt just concluded the season with a sit-down interview at the United Nations with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, following his marathon of on-the-ground coverage of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey, where he anchored for days straight in both Texas and Florida.
“Nightly News has had a banner season by the most important measures, such as our consistent and incredibly strong lead in the key demo, and Lester’s leadership on the biggest stories of the last year, including his interview with President Trump, which remains the most consequential of this presidency,” said Sam Singal, executive producer of NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. “We are extremely proud of the quality of the broadcast we produce every night and the stories we tell. In a world that gets more complex by the day, we are gratified that viewers turn to us for credible, authoritative news they can trust.”
Nightly News dominated the key demo this season, averaging 1.940 million A25-54 viewers and beating its competition by a double-digit landslide: +191,000 (+11 percent) more than ABC World News Tonight and +497,000 (+34 percent) more than CBS Evening News. The broadcast now commands its biggest advantage in the key demo over CBS in three seasons (since 2013-2014).
Nightly News also leads among A18-49 viewers, averaging 1.413 million for the season and beating ABC by +183,000 (+15 percent) and CBS by +420,000 (+42 percent). All four NBC News broadcasts are #1 among A18-49 viewers this season.
Nightly News is the unrivaled social media frontrunner compared to its competition, outpacing other shows with more Facebook fans and the highest engagement rate on Twitter. Nightly News broke ground this August when it became the first evening broadcast to livestream its programming on Facebook across the country to viewers in their respective markets.
Nightly News won the key demo for the third quarter of 2017, averaging 1.762 million viewers and outperforming ABC by 118,000 (+7 percent) and CBS by +500,000 (+40 percent). An average of 1.271 million A18-49 viewers tuned in: +125,000 (+11 percent) more than ABC and +424,000 (+50 percent) more than CBS. Among A25-54 viewers, Nightly News has now won 35 of the last 38 quarters, and among A18-49 viewers, Nightly News has won 80 of the last 83 quarters. An average of 7.606 million total viewers tuned into Nightly News this quarter, topping CBS by +1.721 million (+29 percent).
Nightly News is also #1 in both demos for the month of September, marking 27 consecutive months at #1 with both audiences. Nightly News averaged 1.991 million A25-54 viewers, leading ABC by +168,000 (+9 percent) and CBS by +636,000 (+47 percent). The broadcast delivered an average of 1.423 million A18-49 viewers, leading ABC by +163,000 (+13 percent) and CBS by +494,000 (+53%). An average of 8.189 million total viewers tuned into Nightly News this month, besting CBS by +1.951 million (+31 percent).
For the week of Sept. 18, Nightly News continues its dominance in the key demo, now winning for 66 consecutive weeks. The broadcast averaged 1.854 million A25-54 viewers, leading ABC by +90,000 (five percent) and CBS by +592,000 (+47 percent). Among A18-49, Nightly News averaged 1.322 million viewers, topping ABC by +125,000 (ten percent) and CBS by +444,000 (+51 percent). The NBC News broadcast has ranked #1 in A18-49 for 111 of the last 112 weeks. An average of 7.779 million total viewers on tuned into Nightly News this week, topping CBS by +1.761 million (+29 percent).
Follow the broadcast on Facebook and on Twitter for the latest.
2016-2017 Season (Sept. 19, 2016 – Sept. 24, 2017)
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| NBC | 8,167 | 1.61 | 1,940 | 1.10 | 1,413 |
| CBS | 6,555 | 1.20 | 1,443 | 0.77 | 993 |
| ABC | 8,250 | 1.45 | 1,749 | 0.96 | 1,230 |
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For more information, contact:
Olivia Petersen
NBC News
o: (202) 885-4159
e: olivia.petersen@nbcuni.com
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ABOUT NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH LESTER HOLT
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt is the most-watched evening newscast in America, providing the very latest on the day’s top stories and going beyond the headlines to add context and analysis to the most pressing issues of our times. NBC Nightly News reaches more than 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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