Thursday’s ‘Nightly News’ Tops ABC’s ‘World News Tonight’ in Key Demo

For the First Time Since Dec. 2019, ‘Nightly’ Beats ABC for Three Consecutive Weeks For At Least One Day During the Week

‘Nightly’ Continues to Improve A25-54 Gaps vs. ABC, Including by Nearly 90% vs. Last Year 

Week of Oct.23: Ratings Highlights

• Nightly News increases across-the-board viewership vs. last week, ranking #3 in total viewers for the week with 6.599 million total viewers, excluding specials, sports & syndication

• Thursday’s Nightly News tops ABC in the A25-54 by +58,000 

• This marks the third consecutive week of Nightly News topping ABC for at least one day during the week in the A25-54 demo, the first time this has happened since Dec. 2019

• For 15 of the last 16 weeks, Nightly News closes the demo gaps in year-over-year measurements vs. ABC, including by nearly 90% in A25-54 in the most recent week

• Season to date, Nightly News improves its competitive position versus ABC by 69% in the A25-54 demo compared to the same time period last year

Week of Oct. 23: Nightly Stats

• Averages 6.599 million total viewers, topping CBS by + 1.884 million (+40%)
  • Nightly increases total viewership vs. last week, by +216,000
  • Year over year, Nightly cuts its total viewership gap vs. ABC by 16%
• Averages 1.056 million A25-54 viewers, topping CBS by +353,000 (+50%)
  • Nightly increases A25-54 viewership vs. last week by +46,000
  • For 15 of the last 16 weeks, Nightly News closes the A25-54 in year-over-year measurements vs. ABC, including by nearly 90% in the most recentweek
  • Week over week, Nightly cuts its A25-54 gap vs. ABC by 73%
• Averages 689,000 A18-49 viewers, beating CBS by +229,000 (+50%)
  • Nightly increases A18-49 viewership vs. last week by +30,000
  • For 15 of the last 16 weeks, Nightly News closes the A18-49 gap in year-over-year measurements vs. ABC, including by nearly 71% in the most recent week
  • Week over week, Nightly cuts its A18-49 gap vs. ABC by 37%
• Across digital, Nightly delivered 20.3 million video views and 1.7 million hours viewed on & off network platforms
• On YouTube, weekday episodes reached over 1.1 million views and 839,000 viewers

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OCTOBER 2023: NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH LESTER HOLT DELIVERS LARGEST TOTAL VIEWER AUDIENCE IN 7 MONTHS

During October, Lester Holt Anchored from Israel & Lewiston, Maine

For 11 Consecutive Months, ‘Nightly’ Continues to Close Demo Gaps in Year-Over-Year Measurements vs. ABC, Most Recently by Nearly 70% 

‘Nightly’ Also Marks Most Narrow A25-54 Gap vs. ABC in Over 3 Years

PLUS: October is Broadcast’s Strongest Month on Digital Since Jan. 2021

October 2023: Ratings Highlights

• Nightly News increases its total viewership vs. September by +243,000, delivering the broadcast’s largest audience since March 2023

• Nightly News ranks #4 in total viewers for the month with 6.452 million total viewers, excluding specials, sports & syndication

• Nightly News improves across the board gaps vs. ABC in month-over-week and year-over-year 

• For 11 consecutive months, Nightly News closes the A25-54/A18-49 gaps in year-over-year measurements vs. ABC, including most recently by nearly 70% in A25-54

• Nightly News marks its most narrow A25-54 gap vs. ABC since March 2020

• Nightly News continues to top CBS across the board, marking its 205 consecutive month of beating the network in total viewers and the key A25-54 demo

• It was the newscast’s strongest month across digital since January 2021, with video views growing more than 80% in year-over-year measurements

October 2023: Nightly Stats

• Averages 6.452 million total viewers, topping CBS by +1.788 million (+38%)
  • Month over month, Nightly cuts its total viewership gap vs. ABC by 24%, its most narrow total viewer gap vs. ABC since December 2021
  • Year over year, Nightly cuts its total viewership gap vs. ABC by 9%
  • Nightly increases its total viewership vs. September by +243,000
• Averages 1.027 million A25-54 viewers, topping CBS by +351,000 (+52%)
  • For 11 consecutive months, Nightly News closes the A25-54 gaps in year-over-year measurements vs. ABC, most recently by nearly 70%
  • Month over month, Nightly cuts its A25-54 gap vs. ABC by 43%, its most narrow A25-54 gap vs. ABC since March 2020
  • Year over year, Nightly cuts its A25-54 gap vs. ABC by 69%
• Averages 684,000 A18-49 viewers, beating CBS by +246,000 (+56%)
  • For 11 consecutive months, Nightly News closes the A18-49 gap in year-over-year measurements vs. ABC, most recently by 55%
  • Month over month, Nightly cuts its A18-49 gap vs. ABC by 4%, its most narrow A18-49 gap vs. ABC since June 2020
• Across digital, Nightly had one of its top 10 months on record with more than 100 million video views and nearly 10 million hours viewed on & off network platforms
• It was the newscast’s strongest month since January 2021, with video views growing more than 80% in year-over-year measurements
• On YouTube, full episodes reached 1.2 million views and 905,000 viewers

WEEK of OCTOBER 23-29, 2023

Program	P25-54	P18-49	P2+
	Imps	Imps	Imps
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS	1,056	689	6,599
CBS EVENING NEWS	703	460	4,715
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT	1,076	742	7,732

Note: ABC’s World News Tonight is based on a 4-day average (Tues-Fri) due to Monday Night Football.

OCTOBER 2023

Program	P25-54	P18-49	P2+
	Imps	Imps	Imps
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS	1,027	684	6,452
CBS EVENING NEWS	676	438	4,664
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT	1,087	748	7,547

NBC Nightly News, ABC World News Tonight and CBS Evening News’ ratings include afternoon and overnight airings on owned stations. Digital ratings sourcing: Adobe Analytics and Partner Portals; YouTube Analytics Portal.