David Muir and ABC’s World News Tonight (WNT) have once again triumphed in the competitive landscape of nightly news, winning the ratings battle for the ninth consecutive year, according to recent Nielsen data. This victory marks Muir’s sixth straight year leading NBC and CBS in total viewers, as well as in the highly sought-after demographics of adults aged 25-54 and 18-49.
In terms of viewership, WNT averaged 7.84 million total viewers this year, with particular strength in key demographics: 718,000 viewers in the 18-49 age range and 1.01 million in the 25-54 demographic. NBC Nightly News, under the guidance of new host Tom Llamas, garnered 6.20 million total viewers, while CBS Evening News pulled in 4.05 million. This year’s statistics reflect WNT’s largest margin of victory over its competitors in total viewers in three decades.
Additionally, Good Morning America maintained its position as the top morning newscast for the 14th consecutive year, attracting 2.77 million viewers. CBS Mornings followed with 1.96 million, while NBC’s Today Show narrowly edged ahead in the 25-54 demographic with 586,000 viewers.
Despite WNT’s continued dominance, NBC Nightly News is showing signs of resurgence under Llamas, who succeeded veteran anchor Lester Holt in June. The program notably increased its viewership from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, gaining 477,000 total viewers—an encouraging sign for the network as it looks to build on this momentum. Llamas’ tenure has seen a slight growth in fourth-quarter ratings compared to the previous year.
In a strategic move to bolster its offerings, CBS is set to appoint Tony Dokoupil, co-anchor of CBS Mornings, as the new anchor of CBS Evening News starting in January. This transition, orchestrated by new CBS News chief Bari Weiss, could offer the network fresh opportunities to enhance its viewer engagement and challenge the established leaders.
As the ratings landscape evolves, it will be intriguing to observe how these dynamics unfold in the coming year, particularly for NBC and CBS as they strive to compete with ABC’s stronghold in the nightly news arena.