For the week of May 27, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir was the most-watched evening newscast, while NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt remained on top among adults 25-54.
World News Tonight averaged 8.1 million viewers this past week, which is +726,000 more than its NBC rival. The ABC newscast managed to increased its total viewers victory year to year by +30%, winning the evening news ratings race in tiotal viewers for 35 out of the first 36 weeks of the broadcast season. Season to date, World News ranks No. 1 in total viewers for the 3rd year in a row after finishing as the No. 1 evening newscast for the last 2 seasons.
Nightly News edged its ABC rival in the key A25-54 demo by +10,000 viewers (1,565,000 vs. 1,555,000). Nightly is on track to win the evening news ratings race among the 25-54 demographic for the 23rd consecutive season.
CBS Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan served as CBS Evening News anchor this past week. Norah O’Donnell will take over the gig on a permanent basis later this summer.
Versus the comparable week in 2018, ABC was -1% in total viewers, NBC was -4% in total viewers, while CBS was -7%. In the A25-54 demo, ABC was -6%, NBC -5%, and CBS -11% vs. the comparable week last year.
On Monday (5/27/19), the ABC, NBC and CBS evening newscasts were coded as specials due to the Memorial Day holiday. In addition, due to ABC’s broadcast of the NBA Finals Game 1 on Thursday (5/30/19), World News Tonight was retitled to “Wrld News Tonite.” Each telecast is excluded from the weekly averages. ABC’s evening news ratings averages are based on three days (Tue, Wed and Fri), while CBS’ and NBC’s averages are based on four days (Tue-Fri).
Numbers for the week of May 27, 2019:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 8,061,000 | 7,335,000 | 5,302,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,555,000 | 1,565,000 | 1,050,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 Live + SD, 2018-19 Current Week (w/o 5/27/19), and Year-Ago Week (w/o 5/28/18). Season to date: Most Current: 2018 -2019 Season (9/24/18 – 6/2/19) and 2017-2018 Season (9/25/18 – 6/3/18). Averages based on regular telecasts.