Also #1 Most-Watched Regular Weekday Program in All of TV
Beats ‘World News Tonight’ in Total Viewers For First Time in Three Years & Marks Highest Viewership Week in Nearly a Year
PLUS: ‘Nightly News’ Wins the Younger A18-49 Demo
Dec. 1, 2021 – NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt is the #1 most-watched evening newscast in total viewers and A18-49, overtaking ABC’s World News Tonight, and is the #1-most watched weekday program (excluding sports, syndication & specials) in all of television for the week of Nov. 22, 2021, according to Nielsen Media Research data. Nightly’s win during the big Thanksgiving viewership week marks its first total viewers win over ABC in three years, and its highest weekly viewership in nearly a year.
Nightly News averages 8.578 million total viewers, topping ABC’s World News Tonight by +189,000 (+2%). Nightly News also marks its largest total viewer audience since Dec. 2020, and leads CBS Evening News by +3.253 million (+61%).
Additionally, Nightly News is #1 in A18-49 with1.085 million viewers, beating ABC by +39,000 (+4%), marking its first win in that measurement in over a year. The newscast also tops CBS by +407,000 (+60%).
Among the key A25-54 demo, Nightly News averages 1.471 million viewers, topping CBS by +529,000 (+56%). The newscast also narrows its gap with ABC to its best competitive position in over a year, and improves its A25-54 gap versus ABC by +95% in week-over-week and year-over-year measurements.
Across digital, Nightly News saw 13.8 million views and 1.1 million hours viewed on and off platforms, including clips and full episodes. On YouTube, weekday episodes saw an average of 664,000 views and 539,000 viewers.
| Program | P25-54 Imps | P18-49 Imps | P2+ Imps |
| NBC NIGHTLY NEWS | 1,471 | 1,085 | 8,578 |
| CBS EVENING NEWS | 942 | 678 | 5,325 |
| ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT | 1,482 | 1,046 | 8,389 |
Nightly News was rated based on a 3-day average and ABC World News Tonight and CBS Evening News was rated based on a 2-day average.
Nielsen Ratings now reflect the addition of Out of Home (OOH) viewership that began being measured on Aug. 31,2020 across only 44 markets tracked by Nielsen Media Research.
NBC Nightly News, World News Tonight and CBS Evening News’ ratings are comprised of telecasts with regular titling and include overnight airings on owned stations. World News Tonight’s ratings also include 3:30pm airings in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Digital ratings sourcing: Adobe Analytics and Partner Portals; YouTube Analytics Portal
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NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt reaches nearly 30 million people every week through its broadcast and millions more through NBCNews.com, the Nightly News app, the Nightly newsletter, Nightly Films, its podcast and social media platforms. The broadcast provides the latest on the day’s top stories, going beyond the headlines to uncover how people’s lives are affected by the world around them. Lester Holt is the anchor, and named the “most-trusted television news personality in America,” according to the most recent The Hollywood Reporter/Morning Consult survey. Holt also anchors Nightly News Kids Edition. Meghan Rafferty is the executive producer.
For more information:
Dana Klinghoffer
Dominique Donahue
