Nielsen data for the week of Sept. 27, 2021 is in, and ABC World News Tonight with David Muir was the No. 1 newscast for the week, not just in average total viewers (7.95 million) but also among adults 25-54 (1.42 million) for the second week of the 2021-’22 TV season.
World News Tonight has won the last 149 weeks in average total viewers, and 77 of the last 79 weeks in adults 25-54. That said, the newscast shed -1% in average total viewers and -9% among adults 25-54 viewers from the previous week (season premiere week) Compared to the same week in 2020, the performance was worse, as the broadcast fell by -12% in average total audience and -16% among adults 25-54.
Second-place NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt averaged 6.41 million total viewers, and 1.15 million adults 25-54 this past week. Like World News Tonight, Nightly News shed both average total viewers (-5%), and among adults (-5%) from the previous week. NBC’s evening newscast was down even more when compared with the same week in 2020 (-14% in average total viewers and -25% among adults 25-54).
On YouTube, full weekday episodes of NBC Nightly News earned an average of 637,000 views and 522,0000 viewers last week, with the average consumer watching for roughly 12 minutes. That’s according to data from Adobe Analytics and Partner Portals, and the YouTube Analytics Portal.
CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell , averaged 4.78 million total viewers this past week, which is in line with the previous week. However, the newscast did shed -4% of its adults 25-54 from the prior week (809,000 vs. 841,000). Like ABC and NBC, CBS also saw year-over-year audience losses (-12% in average total viewers and -20% among adults 25-54).
Nielsen live-plus-same-day averages for the week of Sept. 27:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 7,951,000 | 6,407,000 | 4,778,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,417,000 | 1,147,000 | 809,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54. Live + SD Current Week (w/o 9/27/21), Previous Week (w/o 9/20/21) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 9/28/20). Most Current: 2021 -2022 Season (9/20 – 10/3/21 and 2020 -2021 Season (9/21 – 10/4/20). 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.