‘World News Tonight’ Again Tops Season Ratings, But All Networks See Year-Over-Year Audience Erosion

Network news divisions still count the end of the third week of September as the end of their season, and while that may be a bit of linear TV throwback, it’s a chance to get a snapshot of where things stand audience wise.

ABC News‘ World News Tonight continued its winning streak as the most-watched evening newscast for the eighth straight season, and even as the number one show in all of broadcast and cable, with and without sports, for 24 of the 52 weeks, per ABC.

But year-over-year numbers are down across the board for all the networks, likely reflecting the audience declines overall in linear TV.

For the 2023-24 season, World News Tonight averaged 7.72 million viewers, down 5% from a season earlier, while NBC Nightly News averaged 6.44 million, down 4%; and CBS Evening News averaged 4.65 million, down 4%.

In the 25-54 demo, World News Tonight averaged 1.07 million, down 17%, while NBC Nightly News was at 955,000, down 14%; and CBS Evening News was at 665,000, down 12%.

NBC Nightly News showed audience gains in the third quarter, boosted by its coverage of the Olympics. For the three month period, World News Tonight averaged 7.31 million, down 4% from the same period a year earlier; NBC Nightly News averaged 6.2 million, up 1%; and CBS Evening News averaged 4.34 million, down 2%.

In the 25-54 demo, World News Tonight averaged 995,000, down 13%, compared to NBC Nightly News with 961,000, down 5%, and CBS Evening News with 608,000, down 9%.

NBC Nightly News did score a ratings win in the adults 18-49 category in the third quarter, edging out World News Tonight with an average of 689,000 viewers. The ABC broadcast averaged 678,000, and CBS Evening News averaged 404,000. Year over year, NBC News says that it has narrowed the gap with ABC News in the demos and by 10% in total viewers.

For the week of Sept. 16, World News Tonight averaged 7.18 million viewers, down 4% from the same period a year earlier, compared to NBC Nightly News with 5.61 million viewers, down 9% and CBS Evening News at 4.47 million viewers, from 4.46 million a year earlier.

The week was the first full one following the end of Disney blackout on DirecTV systems. It also was the first week after the Sept. 10 presidential debate, which was followed by claims on the right that the World News Tonight audience has suffered amid a backlash over co-moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. President Donald Trump and his allies claimed bias when the moderators fact checked some of his wildest claims. But the 4% year-over-year decline also is in line with the year-over-year overall erosion of the evening news audience.

The figures are from Nielsen via ABC News.