NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt Increases Key Demo Viewership vs. Last Week

‘Nightly News’ Marks 6-Week High in A18-49 & Ranks as #4 Most-Watched Program for the Week in Total Viewers

‘Nightly News’ Continues to Improve Gaps vs. ABC vs. Last Year, Including by Double Digits in A25-54 & A18-49

Week of May 20 Ratings Highlights

  • Nightly News increases key demo viewership vs. last week, up +22,000 in A25-54 and +27,000 in A18-49
  • Nightly News marks a 6-week high in A18-49 and its most narrow gap vs. ABC in A18-49 since March
  • Nightly News is the #4 most-watched show of the week with 5.723 million total viewers, excluding specials, sports & syndication
  • Nightly News continues its best start of the season vs. ABC in 4 years (since 2019-20) across the board and narrows key demo gaps vs. ABC in year-over-year measurements for the fourth consecutive week 
  • Season to date, Nightly News improves its competitive position versus ABC across the board, including by 42% in the A25-54 demo compared to the same time period last year

Week of May 20 Nightly Stats

  • Averages 5.723 million total viewers, topping CBS by + 1.488 million (+35%)
    • Season to date, Nightly News narrows its total viewership gap vs. ABC by 8%
  • Averages 807,000 A25-54 viewers, topping CBS by +175,000 (+28%)
    • Week over week, Nightly News increases A25-54 viewership by +22,000
    • Week over week, Nightly News closes the A25-54 gap vs. ABC by 7%
    • For the fourth consecutive week, Nightly News closes the A25-54 gap vs. ABC in year over year, most recently by 33%
    • Season to date, Nightly News narrows its A25-54 gap vs. ABC by 42%
  • Averages 540,000 A18-49 viewers, beating CBS by +121,000 (+29%)
    • Week over week, Nightly News increases A18-49 viewership by +27,000 to hit a six-week high 
    • Week over week, Nightly News cuts A18-49 gap vs. ABC by 13%, its most narrow gap in 8 weeks (since 3/25/24)
    • Year over year, Nightly News cuts its A18-49 gap vs. ABC by 23%
    • Season to date, Nightly News narrows its A18-49 gap vs. ABC by 34%
  • Across digital, Nightly News delivered 11.5 million video viewers and 1.2 million hours viewed on & off network platforms
  • On YouTube, weekday episodes reached 594,000 views and 468,000 viewers

WEEK of MAY 20-26, 2024

ProgramP25-54P18-49P2+
ImpsImpsImps
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS8075405,723
CBS EVENING NEWS6324194,235
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT9966677,226

Note: All three programs were based on 4-day averages due to retitling on Friday. NBC Nightly News, ABC World News Tonight and CBS Evening News’ ratings include afternoon and overnight airings on owned stations. All stats exclude alternate titles and specials.