After weeks of across-the-board dominance from ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt moved back to No. 1 for the week of Nov. 25 among adults 25-54, and in the process delivered its best performance in the demo (1.84 million) in 38 weeks and best among total viewers (9.06 million) in 43 weeks. Additionally, last week marked the smallest gap with World News Tonight in total viewers in 52 weeks and the biggest lead over CBS Evening News in 171 weeks.
NBC Nightly News is No. 1 in the demo for 2019 to-date.
The aforementioned World News Tonight with David Muir still finished the week as the most-watched evening newscast in total viewers, and won the November sweep period in the key categories.
In fact, on Tuesday, (Nov. 26), World News Tonight delivered its most-watched telecast (9.46 million) in nearly 9 months – since March 7, 2019.
World News Tonight is No. 1 in both total viewers and adults 25-54 season to date for the first time in 23 years—since the 1996-1997 season.
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, NBC and CBS Evening News were rated for 3 days (Mon, Tue, Fri) while ABC was rated for 2 days (Mon, Tue).
Compared with the same calendar week in 2018 (which did not include Thanksgiving), ABC was +1% in total viewers, NBC was also +1% in total viewers, while CBS was -6%. Among adults 25-54, the newscasts slumped relative to last year. ABC was -7%, NBC was -8% and CBS was -10%.
The averages for the week of Nov. 25, 2019:
| Network | ABC | NBC | CBS |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 9,259,000 | 9,062,000 | 6,002,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,792,000 | 1,844,000 | 1,178,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 11/25/19), and Year-Ago Week (w/o 11/26/18). Most Current: 2019–2020 Season (9/23 – 12/1/19) and 2018–2019 Season (9/24 – 12/2/18). Nielsen ratings for ABC, NBC and CBS include additional airings in select markets. Averages based on regular telecasts.
Additional note: Nightly News, World News Tonight and CBS Evening News’ ratings are comprised of telecasts with regular titling and include overnight airings on owned stations. World News Tonight’s ratings also include 3:30pm airings in Los Angeles and San Francisco.