The ratings needle for the three major network evening news broadcasts failed to move during the week of April 22, despite two major cases involving former President Donald Trump that fell on the same day.
ABC News’ World News Tonight with David Muir stayed on top as the most-watched broadcast in total viewers and in the Adults 25-54 demo. It also extended its weekly win record to 282 out of 283 weeks in total viewers and 209 of the last 213 weeks in the advertiser-coveted demo.
WNT averaged 7.522 million total viewers for the week of April 22, dropping by -1% from the week before. It scored 1.040 million viewers in the demo, up +1% compared to the previous week—the only gain of the week among the three evening newscasts in either of the measured categories. Looking at the evening news show’s performance to the same week in 2023 (the week beginning April 24), WNT was down in total viewers by -4% and -15% in the A25-54 demo.
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt remained in the No. 2 spot in total viewers and the demo this past week, averaging 5.928 million viewers in the former and 776,000 viewers in the latter. It was flat in total viewers and down -5% in the A25-54 demo compared to the prior week. When looking at its performance in the same week a year ago, Nightly News saw a decline in both total viewers and A25-54, dropping by –8 % and -20%, respectively.
CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell finished third for the week, with 4.419 million total viewers and 606,000 in the demo. It was flat in total viewers, but declined by -6% among audiences A25-54. Compared to its year-ago numbers, it fell by -8% in total viewers and -17% in the demo.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day averages for the week of April 22, 2024:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 7,522,000 | 5,928,000 | 4,419,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,040,000 | 776,000 | 606,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 4/22/24), Previous Week (w/o 4/15/24) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 4/17/23). Most Current Data Stream: 2023-2024 Season (9/25/23 – 4/21/24) and 2022-2023 Season (9/19/22 – 4/16/23). 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.