All three network evening newscasts shed viewers from the previous week, according to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen.
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir remains at the top of the evening news food chain, however, averaging more than 7.435 million total viewers and 1.28 million adults 25-54 for the week of August 1. The 7.435 million figure means World News Tonight is once again the most-watched show on U.S. TV—excluding sports and syndication—for the week. Additionally, ABC’s evening newscast has now defeated its competition from NBC and CBS 192 of the past 193 weeks in average total viewers—and 121 of the last 123 weeks among adults 25-54.
World News Tonight dropped -2% in total viewers and -3% from the adults 25-54 demo vs. the previous week (July 25). World News Tonight held steady in total viewers and was down -5% among adults 25-54 from the comparable week in 2021 (Aug. 2).
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt averaged 6.02 million total viewers on the linear network, which is -3% from the week prior, to go with 927,000 adults 25-54, which is -3% from the week prior. The 6.02 million figure places the broadcast at No. 3 on U.S. TV, excluding specials, sports and syndication. Nightly News saw the most significant year-over-year declines of the three evening newscasts, -13% in total viewers and -35% among adults 25-54. This poor trend isn’t particularly surprising considering the year-ago week also happened to be week No. 2 of the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics airing on NBC. More adults 25-54 watch Nightly News during an NBC Olympics week than usual, which likely explains the discrepancy between year-over-year losses in total viewers (older viewers) versus the year-over-year losses among adults 25-54.
On a more positive note, across digital, Nightly News had its best week since April, with 12.2 million video views on and off network platforms, according to data from Adobe Analytics and Partner Portals; YouTube Analytics Portal.
Additionally, on Thursday, Aug. 4, NBC Nightly was retitled to “NBC Nitely News” due to NFL preseason football. The retitled broadcast has been removed from the season and weekly averages, meaning the week of Aug. 1 Nielsen ratings for NBC Nightly News are based on four, not five days.
The CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell averaged 4.50 million total viewers and 751,000 adults 25-54 for the first week of August. That’s -3% when it comes to total viewers—and flat in adults 25-54 from the previous week. Evening News dropped -6% in total viewers and -6% among adults 25-54 vs. the comparable week in 2021.
On Friday, Aug. 5, CBS Evening News was retitled to “CBS Evening Nws.” The retitled telecast is excluded from the weekly and season averages, and the newscast’s week of Aug. 1 ratings are based on only four, not five days.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day averages for the week of Aug. 1, 2022:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 7,435,000 | 6,022,000 | 4,502,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,278,000 | 927,000 | 751,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 8/1/22), Previous Week (w/o 7/25/22) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 8/2/21). Most Current: 2021-2022 Season (9/20/21 – 8/7/22) and 2020-2021 Season (9/21/20 – 8/8/21). Nielsen ratings for ABC, NBC and CBS include additional airings in select markets. Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.