ABC World News Tonight with David Muir was the most-watched show on U.S. TV (excluding specials, sports and syndication) this past week, the week of April 11, averaging 8.21 million total viewers and 1.48 million adults 25-54, as per live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen.
On Tuesday, April 12, 8.76 million viewers turned to World News Tonight as Muir anchored from the Brooklyn subway attack.
With its performance this past week, ABC’s evening newscast has now defeated its competition from NBC and CBS 176 of the past 177 weeks in average total viewers—and 105 of the last 107 weeks among adults 25-54.
World News Tonight gained +4% in total viewers from the week of April 4, but shed -1% the same week in 2021 (April 12). The newscast gained +6% from the previous week in the key A25-54 demo (driven by the aforementioned Brooklyn broadcast), but shed -5% in the demo from the year-ago week.
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt averaged 6.81 million total viewers on NBC this past week. That’s up +1% from the previous week, but -3% from the comparable week in 2021. The evening newscast also averaged 1.16 million adults 25-54 this past week, which is +4% vs. the previous week, but -11% from the year-ago week.
On YouTube, full episodes of NBC Nightly News reached an average of 798,000 views and 622,000 viewers last week. That’s according to Adobe Analytics and Partner Portals; YouTube Analytics Portal.
The CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell averaged 4.74 million total viewers and 818,000 adults 25-54 for the week of April 11. That’s -1% in total viewers, but +4% among adults 25-54 from the previous week. The year-over-year ratings trend was worse, with Evening News shedding -8% in total viewers and -9% among adults 25-54.
Note: ABC’s, CBS’ and NBC’s weekly averages are based on four days (Monday-Thursday), with all three networks retitling their respective Friday broadcasts from Nielsen due to the Good Friday.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day averages for the week of April 11, 2022:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 8,209,000 | 6,807,000 | 4,737,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,483,000 | 1,157,000 | 818,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54. Live + SD Current Week (w/o 4/11/22), Previous Week (w/o 4/4/22) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 4/12/21). Most Current: 2021-2022 Season (9/20/21 – 4/17/22) and 2020-2021 Season (9/21/20 – 4/18/21). Nielsen ratings for ABC, NBC and CBS include additional airings in select markets. Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.