‘Nightly’ Tops ABC’s ‘World News Tonight’ For the Full Week, First Time Since March 2020
Lester Holt Reported from Israel All Last Week, Remains the Only Broadcast Evening News Anchor Reporting from Israel this Week
‘Nightly’ is Only Evening Newscast to Grow Across the Board vs. Last Week & Last Year
‘Nightly’ Marks Best Week on Digital Since May 2020
Week of Oct. 9: Ratings Highlights
Lester Holt anchored ‘Nightly’ from Israel last week, beginning on Monday. He continues to anchor from inside Israel this week.
- For the first time since March 2020, Nightly News tops ABC in both key demos for the full week, by +17,000 in A25-54 & by +3,000 in A18-49
- Nightly News is the only evening newscast to grow across the board in week-over-week & year-over-year measurements
- Nightly News hits a 32-week high in both demos (since 2/27/23), as well as a 27-week high in total viewers (since 4/3/23)
- Nightly News ranks #3 in total viewers for the week with 6.7 million total viewers, excluding specials, sports & syndication
- Nightly News marks most narrow total viewer gap vs. ABC in nearly a year (since 11/21/22)
- For 13 of the last 14 weeks, Nightly News closes the A25-54/A18-49 gaps in year-over-year measurements vs. ABC
- Season to date, Nightly News improves its competitive position versus ABC by 63% in the A25-54 demo compared to the same time period last year
- Nightly News marks its best week across digital platforms since May 2020 with 36.6 million video views and 3 million hours viewed
Week of Oct. 9: Nightly Stats
- Averages 6.7 million total viewers, topping CBS by +1.883 million (39%), its largest advantage over CBS in 28 weeks (3/27/23)
- Increases its total viewership by +310,000 vs. last week and grows its total viewership by +294,000 vs. last year
- Week over week, Nightly cuts its total viewership gap vs. ABC by 39%, marking its most narrow total viewer gap vs. the network in nearly a year (since 11/21/22)
- Year over year, Nightly cuts its total viewership gap vs. ABC by 45%
- Averages 1.124 million A25-54 viewers, topping ABC by +17,000 and CBS by +421,000, its largest advantage over CBS in 39 weeks (1/9/23)
- Increases its A25-54 viewership by +144,000 vs. last week
- Grows its A254-54 viewership by +85,000 vs. last year, only evening newscast to grow in the key demo year-over-year
- For 13 of the last 14 weeks, Nightly News closes the A25-54/A18-49 gaps in year-over-year measurements vs. ABC
- Averages 768,000 A18-49 viewers, beating ABC by +3,000 and CBS by +303,000, its largest advantage over CBS in 39 weeks (since 1/9/23)
- Increases its A18-49 viewership by +116,000 vs. last week
- Grows its A18-49 viewership by +58,000 vs. last year, only evening newscast to grow in A18-49 year-over-year
- Across digital, Nightly marks its best week on digital since May 2020 with 36.6 million videoviews and 3 million hours viewed on & off network platforms
- On YouTube, full episodes reached 1.4 million views and 1 million viewers
WEEK of OCTOBER 9-15, 2023
| Program | P25-54 | P18-49 | P2+ |
| Imps | Imps | Imps | |
| NBC NIGHTLY NEWS | 1,124 | 768 | 6,688 |
| CBS EVENING NEWS | 703 | 465 | 4,805 |
| ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT | 1,107 | 765 | 7,403 |
Source: Nielsen, L+SD, Week of 10/9/2023-10/15/2023, average audience based on all telecasts, inclusive of alternate titling. Comparisons to prior periods are based on regularly-titled telecasts.
Note: These weekly averages include all titles and are based on full 5-day averages for each program. Season-to-Date averages and comparisons to prior periods are for regular titles only. NBC Nightly News, ABC World News Tonight and CBS Evening News’ ratings include afternoon and overnight airings on owned stations. Digital ratings sourcing: Adobe Analytics and Partner Portals; YouTube Analytics Portal.
