For the opening week of the 2019 Nielsen calendar year (the week of Dec. 31), ABC World News Tonight with David Muir remained the most-watched newscast, while NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt remained at the top of the heap among Adults 25-54.
However, each of the three evening newscasts were down in all relevant measurements vs. the comparable week a year ago (week of Jan. 1, 2018).
ABC World News Tonight has now won 14 of the past 15 weeks in total audience, and outdelivered its NBC competition by +510,000 total viewers this past week, more than doubling its lead year-to-year (+117 percent), while hitting a season high in total viewers and A25-54 viewers.
Season to date, World News ranks No. 1 in total viewers at this point of the season for the 3rd year in a row.
That said, the broadcast was -9 percent in total viewers and -10 percent in A25-54 viewers vs. the year-ago week.
NBC Nightly News has won the key A25-54 demo for 25 of the last 27 weeks, and is the No. 1 evening newscast season-to-date in the demo which is still the most valued by news advertisers. On the downside, the broadcast posted double digit declines from last year, -12 percent in total viewers and -15 percent in A25-54 viewers.
CBS Evening News with Jeff Glor also posted significant losses from the comparable year-ago week, -16 percent in total viewers and -19 percent in A25-54 viewers.
Ratings for the three newscasts are based on three nights (Wednesday-Friday) due to the New Year’s holiday.
The averages for the week of Dec. 31, 2018:
| Network | ABC | NBC | CBS |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 9,375,000 | 8,865,000 | 6,293,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,997,000 | 2,006,000 | 1,255,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD, 2017-18 Current Week (w/o 12/31/18), Previous Week (w/o 12/24/18) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 1/1/18). Season to date: Most Current: 2018 -2019 Season (9/24/18 – 1/6/19) and 2017-2018 Season (9/25/18 – 1/7/18). Averages based on regular telecasts.