First Time Ever TODAY, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Meet the Press with Chuck Todd and Dateline NBC Win Key Demos Three Years in a Row
NBC News Also Topples Competition in 2018 Special Events Coverage with Midterm Election and Royal Wedding
DECEMBER 31, 2018 – All four NBC News broadcasts close out 2018 at #1 in the key A25-54 and A18-49 demos, according to Nielsen Media Research. This marks the first time ever that TODAY, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Meet the Press with Chuck Todd and Dateline NBC clinch the top spots for three consecutive calendar years in the demos most valued by advertisers. The network’s original and standout reporting, exclusive interviews and a record 253 scoops broken by the Investigative Unit this year continue to drive the broadcasts’ success. This achievement comes on the heels of NBC News’ three-peat win for the 2017-2018 broadcast season.
TODAY wins the A25-54 demo for the third straight year, and continues to outperform ABC’s Good Morning America in the younger A18-49 demo for the 27th consecutive year. Co-anchored by Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb, TODAY also finishes 2018 on a roll, claiming the #1 spot across the board for seven weeks in the fourth quarter. Additionally, the morning broadcast posts its best total viewer margin vs. GMA in six years.
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt is the #1 evening newscast in the key A25-54 demo for 11 straight years. Led by anchor Lester Holt, America’s most-trusted TV news anchor according to a recent poll by The Hollywood Reporters/Morning Consult, the newscast also wins among the younger A18-49 demo for the 22nd consecutive year. Additionally, Nightly News posts its best A25-54 advantage vs. CBS Evening News in six years.
Meet the Press with Chuck Todd achieves a rare milestone with its first across-the-board calendar-year win in six years. The longest-running Sunday public affairs program is #1 in A25-54 for the third straight year, its best streak in six years, and #1 in A18-49 for four consecutive years. Additionally, Meet the Press clinches the top spot in total viewers for the first time in six years, surpassing ABC’s This Week and CBS’ Face the Nation. In the influential D.C. market, Meet the Press won every single Sunday in total viewers since March 2015, while beating out ABC, CBS and Fox News Sunday across the board, widening its lead in both total viewers and the key demos vs. the prior year.
Dateline NBC closes out 2018 with its third across-the-board calendar-year win, marking its best streak ever. For the third consecutive year, the Friday newsmagazine is #1 in both key demos – A25-54 and A18-49 – as well as total viewers.
In addition to the network’s signature programs, NBC News also won across the board during key special events coverage, including the 2018 midterm election and the Royal Wedding. As Americans cast their votes on Election Day, NBC News’ midterm coverage anchored by Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie, and joined by Chuck Todd, was #1, surpassing all broadcast networks in both total viewers and the key A25-54 demo during primetime hours. Additionally, TODAY’s coverage of the Royal Wedding from Windsor was #1, beating out all other networks during the live coverage of the ceremony and nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as well as all the lead-up to the wedding the day prior.
*Source: Nielsen Media Research, Live+SD, 1/1/2018-12/23/2018 with one week remaining in the 2018 broadcast year; NBC News programs vs. respective competitive sets; regularly-titled telecasts only, excluding specials, breakouts, and repeats.
More Americans watch NBC News than any news organization in the world. Its leading and award-winning television news broadcasts include TODAY, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, Dateline NBC, and TODAY with Kathie Lee and Hoda, as well as primetime specials and breaking news reports. For the 2017-2018 season, all four NBC News marquee broadcasts were #1 in the key news demo for the third time in a row. The rapidly-growing NBC News Digital Group, along with the SiriusXM TODAY Show Radio channel, provides continuous content to consumers wherever they are, whenever they want it. NBC News also operates Peacock Productions, an award-winning in-house production company, and the NBC NewsChannel affiliate news service.
NBC News is part of the NBCUniversal News Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast Corporation. For more information about NBCUniversal, please visit www.NBCUniversal.com.
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