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Week of March 24
All three newscasts experienced week-to-week losses in total viewers and Adults 25-54 demo for the final week of March.
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir remained the most-watched evening newscast in both measured categories.
Political news continues not to be a news driver for the evening newscasts as the Signalgate news story, which dominated the headlines for most of the week, failed to attract viewers.
Note: The weekly averages of CBS Evening News are based on three days (Monday – Wednesday), while NBC News’ averages are based on four days (Monday – Wednesday and Friday). CBS News Thursday (03/27/25) and Friday (03/28/25) broadcasts were retitled due to CBS Evening News. NBC News’ Thursday broadcast was retitled to NBC Nitely News. These broadcasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages.
ABC World News Tonight averaged 7.412 million total viewers for the week of March 24. It saw a drop of -2% in total viewers and -1% in the A25-54 demo, which had 1.023 million viewers compared to the previous week. Looking at its performance to the same week in 2024 (the week beginning March 25), WNT was down in total viewers by -5% and -3% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News occupied second place in total viewers and the demo, averaging 5.862 million total viewers and 820,000 demo viewers. When comparing its performance to the previous week, Nightly News decreased in total viewers by -4% and -5% in the A25-54 demo. When looking at how it fared vs. the same week a year ago, Nightly News was down by -11% in total viewers and the demo.
CBS Evening News had 4.005 million total viewers and 546,000 viewers in the demo for the week of March 24. The broadcast saw a slight dip of -1% in total viewers but experienced a double-digit fall of -10% in the demo compared to the previous week. Its year-ago week numbers were down by -18% in total viewers and -24% in the demo.
First Quarter 2025
Looking at the quarterly ratings, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt were the two evening newscasts that recorded quarter-to-quarter gains in total viewers and Adults 25-54.
For WNT, this was its largest quarter of viewership in two years. This happened to be a very newsy period that included the Los Angeles wildfires, the presidential transition between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and the unfortunate airplane tragedies and near mishaps.
ABC News’ evening broadcast also saw its biggest total viewer margins over NBC News and CBS News in four years.
When comparing its first quarter 2025 results to Q4 2024, World News Tonight had 8.132 total viewers, a gain of +7% in total viewers and +8% in the A25-54 demo, which had 1.158 million viewers. Compared to the year-ago quarter (Q1 of 2024), the ratings trend for World News Tonight saw the newscast remain flat in total viewers but rise by +2% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News, which saw Holt announce his summer departure from the newscast and the appointment of Tom Llamas as his replacement, averaged 6.598 million total viewers and 983,000 A25-54 viewers during the first quarter of 2025. The newscast was up +9% in total viewers and +10% in the demo when compared to the prior quarter. NBC Nightly News was also down relative to the year-ago quarter, shedding -3% in total viewers and -1% in the A25-54 demo.
Finally, CBS Evening News, which transitioned from Norah O’Donnell and Washington D.C. to a two-anchor New York-based show, averaged 4.586 million total viewers and 657,000 A25-54 viewers in Q1 2025. It was up in total viewers by +1% and saw a slight dip of -2% in the demo vs. the prior quarter. Compared to the first quarter of 2024, it was down by -8% in total viewers and -9% in A25-54 viewers.
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 3/17/25), Previous Week (w/o 3/10/25) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 3/18/24). Most Current Data Stream: 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24 – 3/23/25) and 2023-2024 Season (9/25/23 – 3/24/24). Most Current Data Stream – 1Q25: 12/30/24 – 3/30/25, 4Q24: 9/23/24 – 12/29/24 and 1Q24: 1/1/24 – 3/31/24. 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.
Mark Mwachiro is a TVNewser contributor who has been writing for the blog since March 2022. Based out of New York, Mark has also contributed to ADWEEK.
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Week of March 24 and Q1 2025 Evening Show Ratings: ABC News’ World News Tonight Wins Across The Board – Adweek
