To sum up the evening news landscape during the week of August 22, 2022—ABC World News Tonight with David Muir remains No. 1, per usual, while NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and The CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell gained back some A25-54 viewers, after struggling the previous week.
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, World News Tonight averaged 7.23 million total viewers and 1.225 million adults 25-54 for the week of August 22. The 7.23 million figure means World News Tonight is not only the top-rated evening newscast, but it’s also the most-watched show on U.S. TV—excluding sports—for the 20th consecutive week. Additionally, ABC’s evening newscast has now defeated its competition from NBC and CBS 195 of the past 196 weeks in average total viewers—and 124 of the last 126 weeks among adults 25-54.
That said, World News Tonight shed -1% in total viewers and -2% from the adults 25-54 demo vs. the previous week (August 15). The year-over-year was worse, with the broadcast down -11% in total viewers and -22% among adults 25-54 from the comparable week in 2021 (Aug. 23), a time when TV news was covering the Afghanistan exit crisis.
NBC Nightly News averaged 6.07 million total viewers on the linear network this past week. That’s down less than -1% from the week prior. The 6.07 million figure places the broadcast at No. 3 on U.S. TV, excluding specials, sports and syndication. Nightly News also averaged 986,000 adults 25-54 this past week—which is a +1% gain from the week prior. On the downside, however, Nightly News saw year-over-year declines of -12% in total viewers and -21% among adults 25-54.
On the digital viewing front, weekday episodes of Nightly News reached 627,000 viewers and 785,000 viewers on YouTube. This is according to data from Adobe Analytics and Partner Portals, as well as YouTube Analytics Portal.
NBC Nightly News marked its 191st consecutive month defeating CBS in the key A25-54 demo.
Speaking of CBS, The Evening News averaged 4.45 million total viewers—and 6,000 adults 25-54 for the fourth week of August. That’s a solid +5% when it comes to total viewers—and +7% in adults 25-54 from the previous week. Evening News shed only -5% in total viewers—but -21% among adults 25-54 vs. the comparable week in 2021.
CBS Evening News continues to retitle its Summer Friday broadcasts. On Friday Aug. 26, CBS Evening News was retitled to “CBS Evening Nws.” NBC Nightly News also retitled its Friday, Aug. 26 telecast to “NBC Nitely News.” The retitled telecasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages. CBS’ and NBC’s weekly evening news ratings averages are based on just four days (Monday-Thursday), while ABC’s evening ratings averages are based on all five days, including the traditionally low-rated Summer Friday.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day averages for the week of Aug. 22, 2022:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 7,226,000 | 6,069,000 | 4,452,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,225,000 | 986,000 | 725,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54. Live + SD Current Week (w/o 8/22/22), Previous Week (w/o 8/15/22) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 8/23/21). Most Current: 2021-2022 Season (9/20/21 – 8/28/22) and 2020-2021 Season (9/21/20 – 8/29/21). 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.