#1 in A18-49 Demo Also for 12th Straight Sweeps
NEW YORK (May 25, 2018) – “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” ranked #1 in the key demo for the May 2018 sweep period according to Nielsen Research data.
The broadcast averaged 1.6 million A25-54 viewers, leading “ABC World News Tonight” by +35,000 viewers (+2%) and “CBS Evening News” by +451,000 viewers (+39%). “Nightly News” has finished #1 in the demo for 12 consecutive sweep periods and 38 of the last 41 sweeps. The NBC News broadcast’s May sweep advantage over CBS increased for the third straight year (+10% vs May 2017); and was its biggest May win since 2013.
Among A18-49, “Nightly News” averaged 1.1 million viewers for the sweep period, topping ABC by +10,000 (+1%) and CBS by +268,000 (+33%). “Nightly News” has been #1 in A18-49 for 12 straight sweeps and 42 of the last 43 sweeps.
“Nightly News” averaged 7.5 million total viewers for May 2018 sweep, leading CBS Evening News by +1.9 million viewers (+33%). “Nightly News” improved its lead over CBS by +29% from the May 2017 sweep. The broadcast delivered its biggest May sweep total viewer win over CBS since 2014, and grew its advantage over CBS by 29% compared to May 2017.
May 2018 Sweep Highlights:
- “Nightly News” averaged 1.6 million A25-54 viewers, leading “ABC World News Tonight” by +35,000 (2%) and “CBS Evening News” by +451,000 (+39%).
- “Nightly News” has finished #1 in the demo for 12 consecutive sweep periods and 38 of the last 41 sweeps.
- “Nightly News” averaged 1.1 million A18-49 viewers for the sweep period, topping ABC by +10,000 viewers (+1%) and CBS by +268,000 viewers (+33%).
- “Nightly News” has been #1 in A18-49 for 12 straight sweeps and 42 of the last 43 sweeps.
- “Nightly News” averaged 7.5 million total viewers for May sweep, leading CBS Evening News by +1.9 million viewers (+33%).
May 2018 Sweep:
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| NBC | 7.534 | 1.34 | 1.618 | 0.84 | 1.080 |
| CBS | 7.896 | 1.31 | 1.583 | 0.83 | 1.070 |
| ABC | 5.671 | 0.97 | 1.167 | 0.63 | 0.812 |
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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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For more information contact:
TJ Ducklo
NBC News
212-664-1913
Rachel Zuckerman
NBC News
212-664-3996
