After a week off, David Muir returned to ABC World News Tonight, and the newscast promptly hit seven week highs in total viewers and A25-54. World News Tonight was also the only evening newscast to gain viewers from the week earlier.
WNT averaged 7.66 million total viewers and 1.16 million A25-54 viewers during the week of August 14, 2023, as per Nielsen live plus same day data. Its 7.66 million average is +4% from what the newscast averaged the previous week (August 7), while its 1.16 million average in the demo is +6% from that week.
On Thursday, Aug. 17, Muir anchored the newscast from Maui, reporting on the horrific wildfires that have decimated the island.
Relative to the same week in 2022, World News Tonight is +5% in total viewers but -7% in A25-54 viewers, as linear news continues to lose Americans under 55 years of age on an annual basis.
Despite the mixed trend, with this past week’s performance, ABC’s evening newscast has now defeated its competition from NBC and CBS 246 of the past 247 weeks in average total viewers—and 175 of the last 177 weeks among Adults 25-54. The week of August 14 also marked World News Tonight’s ninth consecutive week as the most watched regularly-scheduled program across U.S. broadcast and cable TV.
Elsewhere on broadcast news, for the week of August 14, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt averaged 5.91 million total viewers and 995,000 Adults 25-54. That represents -4% in total viewers and -2% in A25-54 viewers from the week before.
NBC Nightly News shed -3% in total viewers but actually gained +2% in A25-54 viewers from the comparable week in 2022. It was the second-most-watched regularly-scheduled program across U.S. broadcast and cable TV this past week.
Additionally, according to Adobe Analytics and Partner Portals; YouTube Analytics Portal, full episodes of NBC Nightly News on YouTube reached an average of 897,700 views and 698,000 viewers last week.
The CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell also seemed to benefit from its coverage of the Maui wildfires (ratings-wise, of course), with the network delivering week-to-week and year-over-year viewership growth. The newscast averaged 4.42 million total viewers and 692,000 Adults 25-54 for the week of August 14, which is +2% in total viewers and +1% in A25-54 viewers from the previous week. The newscast is also +4% in average total viewers and +2% in A25-54 viewers from the year-ago week.
O’Donnell anchored the broadcast Monday-Thursday, and CBS Sports’ James Brown guest-anchored on Friday.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day averages for the week of August 14, 2023:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 7,658,000 | 5,910,000 | 4,420,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,160,000 | 995,000 | 692,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, Live + SD Current Week (w/o 8/14/23), Previous Week (w/o 8/7/23) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 8/15/22). Most Current Data Stream: Season 2022-2023 (9/19/22-8/20/23) and Season 2021-2022 (9/20/21-8/21/2023). Live. 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.