ABC World News Tonight with David Muir finished the week of November 27 at No. 1 in the evening news ratings race, and saw substantial audience growth from recent weeks; a much-needed development for a newscast that has seen its lead over NBC tighten in 2023.
Per live plus same day data from Nielsen, World News Tonight averaged more than 8.45 million total viewers and 1.18 million A25-54 viewers this past week. The show’s 8.45 million viewer average is +3% from the previous week (the Thanksgiving holiday-shortened week of Nov. 20), while its 1.18 million A25-54 average is +5% from the previous week. When compared with the year-ago week (Nov. 28, 2022), ABC’s evening newscast is down -4% in total viewers but up a solid +3% in A25-54 viewers.
World News Tonight has averaged more total viewers than NBC and CBS for 261 of the last 262 weeks, and more adults 25-54 for 190 of the last 192 weeks. It was also the most-watched daily program across broadcast and cable TV for the week.
Additionally, the Monday, Nov. 27 broadcast of World News Tonight was retitled and excluded from the show’s weekly ratings average due to ESPN Monday Night Football airing on ABC, a common practice throughout the regular season to-date.
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt averaged 7.075 million total viewers and 1.07 million A25-54 viewers this past week, -7% and -2%, respectively, from the week prior. Additionally, the newscast shed -3% in total viewers and -15% in A25-54 viewers relative to the year-ago week. Last week was a down week for a newscast that has been gaining ground on World News Tonight lately, particularly in Adults 25-54, where the show is off to its best start against its ABC evening rival since the 2019-’20 season.
Additionally, according to data from Adobe Analytics and Partner Portals—and the YouTube Analytics Portal, full weekday episodes of NBC Nightly News earned an average of 604,000 total views and 484,000 viewers this past week.
Changing channels, The CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell averaged 5.05 million total viewers and 719,000 Adults 25-54 for the week of Nov. 27. That’s +2% and +5%, respectively, from what the newscast averaged during Thanksgiving week. On the downside, the CBS Evening News saw a -5% decline in total viewers and a -14% decline in A25-54 viewers from the year-ago week.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day averages for the week of Nov. 27, 2023:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 8,452,000 | 7,075,000 | 5,048,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,183,000 | 1,066,000 | 719,000 |