For the 15th straight week, excluding sports, ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir remains the No. 1 television program in total viewers.
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, for the week of July 18, World News Tonight had 7.32 million total viewers and 1.18 million adults 25-54 viewers. World News Tonight’s hot streak, as the top show over its rivals at NBC and CBS, continues now for 190 of the past 191 weeks in average total viewers and 119 of the last 121 weeks in the adults 25-54 demo.
Compared to last week, World News Tonight grew in total viewers by 2% but fell by 6% in the adults 25-54 demo. The year-over-year losses continue for the newscast as it was down 5% in total viewers and 17% among adults 25-54 from the comparable week in 2021 (July 19).
NBC News’ Nightly News with Lester Holt remains the No. 2 on U.S. TV broadcast, excluding sports, specials and syndication. The news program for the week of July 18 had 6.131 million total viewers and 904,000 adults 25-54 viewers.
Nightly News held up well compared to last week, dropping less than 1% in total viewers. The drop, though, was more prominent in adults 25-54 as it lost 6% viewers compared to last week. When looking back to the comparable week in 2021, Nightly News is holding steady in total viewers as it has lost 1% of its viewers, but in the 25-54 demo, the broadcast has dropped 14% of its viewership.
The CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell still trails the other two broadcasts as it averaged 4.588 total viewers and 750000 adults 25-54 viewers for the week of July 18. That show grew by 4% in total viewers compared to last week but fell by 2% in the adults 25-54 demo. Evening News lost 2% in total viewers and 12% amongst adults 25-54 vs. the comparable week in 2021.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day averages for the week of July 18, 2022:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 7,317,000 | 6,131,000 | 4,588,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,176,000 | 904,000 | 750,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 7/18/22), Previous Week (w/o 7/11/22) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 7/19/21). Most Current: 2021-2022 Season (9/20/21 – 7/24/22) and 2020-2021 Season (9/21/20 – 7/25/21). 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.