There was a split decision in the evening news ratings race this past week, with ABC finishing No. 1 in total viewers and NBC finishing No. 1 among adults 25-54.
World News Tonight with David Muir defeated NBC Nightly News by +601,000 total viewers, which is more than double the margin of victory vs. the comparable week in 2017. (+601,000 vs. +283,000). The ABC evening newscast has won the last 28 weeks in total viewers and 44 of the 48 weeks of the season.
WNT also posted +1 percent growth in total viewers vs. the same week in 2017, but was -7 percent among adults 25-54.
Nightly News with Lester Holt once again ranked as the top evening newscast among the key A25-54 demographic. Not only did Nightly win the week, but it also won the month of August 2018 in the category. The program has now 37 of the last 38 months in A25-54, per Nielsen data.
That said, NBC’s evening newscast continues to lose viewers vs. the comparable week in 2017. For the week of Aug. 20, Nightly News was -3 percent in total viewers and -9 percent among adults 25-54.
The CBS Evening News with Jeff Glor posted similar year-over-year losses. The newscast was also -3 percent in total viewers and -9 percent in A25-54 vs. the same week in 2017.
Due to NFL pre-season games on Friday (Aug. 24), CBS Evening News averages are based on just four days (Mon-Thurs).
Average audience for the week of August 20, 2018:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 8,041,000 | 7,440,000 | 5,665,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,624,000 | 1,647,000 | 1,141,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 Live + SD weeks of 8/20/18 and 8/21/17. Season-to-Date: Most Current: 2017-2018 Season (9/25/17 – 8/19/18) and 2016-2017 Season (9/19/16 – 8/20/17). Averages based on regular telecasts.