Posts 7-Month High in Key Demos, Most-Watched September in 3 Years in A25-54
Delivers 8 Consecutive Months of Year-Over-Year Growth
September 2026: Ratings Highlights
- Nightly News delivers its largest September total viewer audience in 5 years with 6.6 million total viewers
- Nightly News posts 7-month highs in the key demos and marks its most-watched September A25-54 audience in 3 years
- Nightly News marks 8 consecutive months of year-over-year growth
September 2026: Nightly Stats
- Averages 6.6 million total viewers, topping CBS by + 2.618 million (+66%)
- Nightly News increases total viewers by +896,000 vs. last year
- Narrows total viewer gap vs. ABC by 1%
- Biggest September audience in 5 years
- Averages 1.022 A25-54 viewers, beating CBS by +476,000 (+87%)
- Nightly News increases A25-54 viewers by +223,000 vs. last year, +2,000 vs. last month
- Biggest September audience in 3 years
- Averages 747,000 A18-49 viewers, beating CBS by +352,000 (+89%)
- Nightly News increases A18-49 viewership vs. last year by +208,000, by +5,000 vs. last month
- Biggest September audience in 5 years
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WEEK OF SEPT. 21: NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH TOM LLAMAS DELIVERS DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH ACROSS THE BOARD
Ranks as the #2 Most-Watched Program in All of TV
WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 21 HIGHLIGHTS
- Nightly News grows across the board vs. last year by double-digit percentages, including +14% in total viewers, +20% in A25-54 & +30% in A18-49
- Nightly News ranks #2 in total viewers for the week with 6.5 million total viewers, excluding specials, sports & syndication
- Nightly News scores its 34th consecutive week of across-the-board growth vs. last year
- Nightly News delivers its best streak of year-over-year growth on record
WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 21 STATS
- Averages 6.5 million total viewers, topping CBS by +2.515 million (+63%)
- Increases total viewership vs. last year by +794,000
- Averages 970,000 A25-54 viewers, beating CBS by +473,000 (+95%)
- Increases A25-54 viewers vs. last year by +162,000
- Averages 721,000 A18-49 viewers, beating CBS by +332,000 (+85%)
- Increases A18-49 viewers vs. last year by +168,000
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SEPTEMBER 2026
| Program | P25-54 | P18-49 | P2+ |
| Imps | Imps | Imps | |
| NBC NIGHTLY NEWS | 1,022 | 747 | 6,595 |
| CBS EVENING NEWS | 546 | 395 | 3,975 |
| ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT | 1,134 | 842 | 8,293 |
Nielsen Big Data + Panel, L+SD, September 2026 (8/31/2026-9/27/2026). Average audience based on regularly-titled telecasts only.
WEEK OF 9/21/2026
| Program | P25-54 | P18-49 | P2+ |
| Imps | Imps | Imps | |
| NBC NIGHTLY NEWS | 970 | 721 | 6,495 |
| CBS EVENING NEWS | 497 | 389 | 3,980 |
| ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT | 1,153 | 867 | 8,388 |
Source: Nielsen Big Data + Panel, L+SD, Week of 9/21/2026. Average audience based on regularly-titled telecasts only. Note: ABC World News Tonight and CBS Evening News were based on 4-date averages, retitling on Friday.
