The Friday news magazine ratings battle between Dateline NBC and ABC’s 20/20 has always been a competitive one. Dateline won the 2015-2016 broadcast season across the board, and is leading the current season to-date. But 20/20 has had a strong start to 2017.
The ABC mainstay beat Dateline head-to-head in the 10 p.m. hour in total viewers and in the key A25-54 demographic. 20/20 kicked off the quarter with episodes involving celebrity deaths, Diane Sawyer‘s My Reality: Hidden America special, and interviews with the Trump family.
This is the first time in 5 years 20/20 has topped Dateline in a first quarter. But while the quarter was strong, both newsmagazines are down compared to Q1 2016. It should also be noted Dateline aired fewer episodes than 20/20 this past quarter, and even fewer than in Q4 2016 or Q1 2016.
Here are the numbers:
| Q1 ’17 | Q4 ’16 | Q1 ’16 | vs. Q4 ’16 | vs. Q1 ’16 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Viewers | 20/20 | 5.635M | 5.215M | 5.853M | +8% | -4% |
| Dateline | 5.075M | 6.410M | 6.364M | -21% | -20% | |
| A25-54 | 20/20 | 1.915M | 1.824M | 2.138M | +5% | -10% |
| Dateline | 1.895M | 2.329M | 2.419M | -19% | -22% |
While Dateline NBC may have experienced audience declines from previous quarters, it maintains the season-to-date lead.
| Show Name | Net | Total Viewers | A25-54 |
| Dateline | NBC | 4.725M | 1.629M |
| 20/20 | ABC | 4.519M | 1.533M |
Dateline is in the midst of its 25th anniversary season on NBC, and today fans will be able to take their photos with life-size cut outs of the correspondents and anchor Lester Holt at 30 Rock’s NBC store.
