ABC World News Tonight remains one of the top-rated evening newscasts in the U.S., often leading in total viewers and key demos in recent Nielsen data.
Key takeaways recent weeks
- The program has consistently claimed the largest total-viewer audience among the major network evening newscasts, often topping NBC Nightly News and CBS Evening News in total viewers.[1][3][5]
- In several weeks, World News Tonight led the Adults 25-54 demo as well, matching or surpassing rivals depending on the measurement period.[3][4][1]
Notes on interpretation
- Ratings vary week-to-week and depend on which metric you consider (total viewers vs. Adults 25-54) and the exact date range (week-by-week, five-day averages, or quarterly tallies).[8][1]
- There have been periods where NBC or CBS posted stronger numbers in certain demos or days, but ABC typically maintains a lead in overall audience across most recent periods.[5][1]
If you’d like, I can pull the latest Nielsen figures for a precise week or create a quick summary table comparing World News Tonight with NBC Nightly News and CBS Evening News across total viewers and key demos for the most recent four weeks. I can also source citations for each data point.
Sources
ABC News has long been on top of the nightly newscast ratings, but World News Tonight set a recent high last week.
barrettmedia.comThe latest evening news ratings show that ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir remained the most-watched evening newscast overall for the week of February 9. NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas saw the only increase in both total viewers and the key Adults 25-54 demographic, while CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil trailed its competition with declining viewership numbers.
nationaltoday.comIMDb, the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.
www.imdb.comABC's World News Tonight showed ratings growth in the first quarter of 2025, delivering an average of 8.13 million viewers, while its broadcast network rivals saw year-over-year erosion. The…
deadline.comLatest Nielsen ratings of ABC World News Tonight with David Muir television program on ABC.
ustvdb.comIMDb, the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.
www.imdb.com“NBC Nightly News” was a close second for the week with 8.36 million viewers. “CBS Evening News” finished third with 6.81 million. Season to date “World News” has averaged 8.757 million total viewers, just 3,000 ahead of NBC’s 8.754 million. It’s the first time ABC has led among total viewers at this point in the season since 1995-96. “World News” is up 6 percent versus last year, the only newscast to show year-to-year gains. Among viewers 25-54, “NBC Nightly News” was first for the week with...
medialifemagazines.comFOR 35TH CONSECUTIVE QUARTER, ABC’S ‘WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH DAVID MUIR’ IS MOST-WATCHED NEWSCAST IN AMERICA — BEATING NBC IN 4TH QUARTER BY MORE THAN 1.6 MILLION VIEWERS — AND IS #1 IN TOTAL VIEWERS, ADULTS 25-54 AND ADULTS 18-49
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