As the 6-month suspension of Brian Williams got underway, “NBC Nightly News” continued as the most-watched evening newscast last week with Lester Holt in the anchor chair. But compared to the same week last year only ABC’s “World News Tonight with David Muir” saw total viewer growth: up +9%.
In the day-by-day breakdown, “World News Tonight” took Wednesday — the day after Williams’ suspension was announced — in both total viewers and the demo. The ABC broadcast also took Thursday in the demo. The Holt-anchored “Nightly News” won all other nights.
Year-over-year, “Nightly News” was down -18% in viewers and down -18% in the demo, but it should be noted the same week last year was the first week of the Sochi Olympics, which were carried on NBC, and which always lead to a ratings boost. “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley” was down -4% in viewers and down -16% in the demo. “World News Tonight” was also down in the demo: -6%
Numbers for the week of Feb. 9, 2015:
| NBC | ABC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 9,430,000 | 9,032,000 | 7,628,000 |
| • A25-54: | 2,292,000 | 2,242,000 | 1,786,000 |