Wins Both Key A25-54 and 18-49 Demos For 2017-18 Season
#1 in the Key Demo for 11 of the Last 12 Weeks
First Time Ever All Four NBC News Shows #1 in Key Demo for Third Straight Season
SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 – NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt won the 2017-18 season as the #1 most-watched evening broadcast in the demo valued most by news advertisers, delivering the broadcast’s 22nd consecutive season as the most-watched evening broadcast in the key demo.
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt along with TODAY, Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, and Dateline NBC scored a three-peat for the first time ever, posting wins in the valued A25-54 and A18-49 demos for the third straight season.
In the 2017-2018 broadcast season, Holt launched his second “Across America” tour, visiting five states in five days and drilling down on the issues that impact Americans in their hometowns. On-the-ground reporting remains a signature of the broadcast.
Last season, Holt led NBC News’ coverage of many of the world’s most consequential news stories, including President Trump’s summit with President Putin from Helsinki, Kim Jong Un and President Trump’s historic meeting from Singapore, and the ongoing tensions between North Korea and the United States from inside Pyongyang. Holt reported from the scene in McAllen, Texas when migrant families were being separated at the border, from southern California when devastating wildfires left many homeless, from Las Vegas in the aftermath of the Mandalay Bay casino shooting, and most recently from North Carolina as Hurricane Florence ripped through the east coast.
Nightly News continues to be the leader in quality and original reporting as well. Last season, the broadcast featured exclusive interviews with Vice President Mike Pence, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Apple CEO Tim Cook, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, rapper Meek Mill, and many others.
In the key A25-54 demo, the NBC News broadcast averaging 1.8 million A25-54 viewers and leading ABC by +75,000 (+4%) and CBS by +554,000 (+43%). Nightly News holds its biggest key demographic advantage over CBS in six seasons.
Nightly News averaged 1.3 million A18-49 viewers, outperforming ABC by +78,000 (+7) and CBS by +392,000 (+44%). All four NBC News broadcasts are #1 among A18-49 viewers this season. Nightly News averaged 8.1 million total viewers for the season leading CBS by +2.0 million (+31%).
Nightly News was also #1 in the key demo for the third quarter of 2018. The broadcast averaged 1.6 million viewers, outperforming ABC by 60,000 (+4%) and CBS by +526 million (+47%). An average of 1.1 million A18-49 viewers tuned in, +25,000 (+2%) more than ABC and +332,000 (+42%) ahead of CBS. Among A25-54 viewers and A18-49 viewers, Nightly News has won 12 of the last 13 quarters. 7.5 million total viewers tuned into Nightly News this quarter, topping CBS by +1.9 million (+34%).
For the week, Nightly News continues its dominance in the key demo, now winning for 11 of the last 12 weeks. The broadcast averaged 1.7 million A25-54 viewers, leading ABC by +44,000 (+3%) and CBS by +505,000 (+44%). Among A18-49, Nightly News averaged 1.1 million viewers, topping ABC by +2,000 (+0.22%) and CBS by +292,000 (+36%). The NBC News broadcast has ranked #1 in A18-49 for 10 of the last 12 weeks. 7.6 million total viewers on tuned into Nightly News this week, topping CBS by +2.0 million (+35%).
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2017-18 Season:
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| NBC | 8.112 | 1.52 | 1.837 | 0.99 | 1.277 |
| CBS | 6.192 | 1.06 | 1.283 | 0.69 | 0.885 |
| ABC | 8.593 | 1.46 | 1.762 | 0.93 | 1.199 |
Q3 2018:
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| NBC | 7.487 | 1.36 | 1.644 | 0.86 | 1.113 |
| CBS | 5.595 | 0.93 | 1.118 | 0.61 | 0.781 |
| ABC | 8.030 | 1.31 | 1.584 | 0.84 | 1.088 |
Week of September 17 – September 21, 2017:
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| NBC | 7.576 | 1.37 | 1.655 | 0.85 | 1.094 |
| CBS | 5.601 | 0.95 | 1.150 | 0.62 | 0.802 |
| ABC | 8.228 | 1.34 | 1.611 | 0.85 | 1.092 |
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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 among the key news demo for the past 21 seasons. The broadcast provides the very latest on the day’s top stories, going beyond the headlines to add context and analysis to the most pressing issues of our time. 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 Jenn Suozzo 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
