ABC’s 20/20 earned the Nielsen ratings trifecta for the 2022-’23 broadcast TV season, beating rival Dateline NBC in average total viewers, the adults 25-54 TV news demo and the adults 18-49 primetime entertainment demo for the second consecutive season.
How do final season Nielsen ratings for the two programs stack up against their respective 2021-’22 broadcast TV season performances? Not particularly well. In total viewers, 20/20 dropped by -9%, whereas Dateline dropped by -12%. The declines in the younger demos were steeper, which is expected as cord-cutting among younger viewers in prime time continues. 20/20 shed -19% of its A25-54 audience from the previous season, whereas Dateline was down by -14%. When it came to adults 18-49, still the go-to demo for prime time entertainment programming, 20/20 shed -23%, while Dateline shed -18%. So, while Dateline was able to close the gap a bit from the prior season when it came to adults under 55, it still wasn’t quite enough to overtake 20/20 in the ratings department.
Dateline, despite losing the season, won the May 2023 sweeps period and had its best season across digital on record with more than 415 million video views, up more than +55% versus the prior season (per Adobe Analytics & Partner Portals data). Additionally, the Dateline “showcast” also had its strongest season on record with more than 270 million downloads, per data from Simplecast.
Friday night newsmagazine Nielsen data, the 2023-’23 TV season:
| ABC (9-11 p.m.) | NBC (9-11 p.m.) | |
|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,842,000 | 3,612,000 |
| • A25-54: | 958,000 | 918,000 |
| • A18-49: | 664,000 | 623,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, Live+7/Most Current Program Ratings. “Dateline” premiered on 9/16/22 and the telecast is included in the averages. 2022-23 Broadcast Season (9/19/22 – 5/24/23) and 2021 -2022 Broadcast Season (9/20/21 – 5/25/22). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Prior to 8/31/20, ratings do not include OOH viewing.
Some editorial highlights for each show in 2022-’23:
20/20 spent a year in Uvalde, Texas following the families of victims and survivors of the Robb Elementary massacre as they cope with the loss of their loved ones and the inaction of the police, fight for justice, and try to begin their journey of healing. The program investigated bodies found in Nevada’s Lake Mead as environmental crises caused the reservoir to recede, and it sat down with the second wife of a suspected murderer who helped put him behind bars.
Dateline’s most recent broadcast on the University of Idaho murders featured exclusive new details on the alleged killer Bryan Kohberger, generating nationwide coverage. Correspondent Josh Mankiewicz interviewed the parents of Kristin Smart in their first network exclusive interview following the sentencing of Paul Flores, their daughter’s killer. Correspondent Keith Morrison’s latest original podcast, The Girl in the Blue Mustang, reached No. 1 on the Apple Podcast charts, marking Morrison’s sixth #1 podcast
Moderated by self-proclaimed Dateline fan and Grace & Frankie star June Diane Raphael, Josh Mankiewicz, Keith Morrison and Executive Producers David Corvo and Liz Cole joined this year’s SXSW for the featured session: Dateline 24/7: How the True Crime Powerhouse Became a Podcast Empire.
