“NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” wins the week of May 21 — its 183rd straight week at #1 — as well as May sweeps, while #2 ABC “World News with Diane Sawyer” continues to make gains.
For the May sweep, “Nightly” held a +545,000 Total Viewer lead on “World News.” Last May sweep, the gap was +879,000, a decrease of -38%. The “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley,” which marks one year on the air next week, is up +4% in Total Viewers since Pelley took over.
Compared to the same week last year, when the evening newscasts gave extensive coverage to the tornado in Joplin, MO, all three newscasts are down double digits in both total viewers and younger viewers. The coverage from Joplin as well as the death of Osama bin Laden and the aftermath of deadly storms in Alabama earlier in the month, also meant a drop in monthly viewership, compared to last year.
- Numbers for the week of May 21, 2012:
| NBC | ABC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Viewers | 7,756,000 | 7,170,000 | 5,429,000 |
| A25-54 | 2,124,000 | 1,813,000 | 1,491,000 |
- Numbers for May, 2012:
| NBC | ABC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers | 7,757,000 | 7,212,000 | 5,682,000 |
| • A25-54 | 2,111,000 | 1,881,000 | 1,618,000 |