The three evening newscasts experienced viewership declines in both total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo during the first full week of May.
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir continued to be the evening news leader in both categories. However, for the second week in a row, over 70,000 demo viewers separated WNT and NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas.
Note: The weekly average of ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, and CBS Evening News is based on four days. Tuesday’s (05/05/2026) CBS News’ broadcast was retitled to CBS Evening Nws. Wednesday’s (05/06/2026) NBC News broadcast was retitled NBC Nitely Nws, and Friday’s (05/08/2026) ABC News’ broadcast was retitled WNT-ABC. These broadcasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages.
According to national live+same-day big data plus program ratings from Nielsen, ABC World News Tonight averaged 8.183 million total viewers and 976,000 Adults 25-54 demo viewers for the week of May 4. The evening newscast was down by -1% among total viewers and -3% among A25-54 viewers compared to the previous week. Looking at its performance during the same week in 2025* (the week beginning April 27), WNT was up +13% in total viewers and +1% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News was No. 2 in total viewers and the demo, averaging 6.125 million and 903,000 viewers, respectively. Compared to the previous week, Nightly News fell by -2% in total viewers and -3% in the demo. When comparing its performance to the same week a year ago, Nightly News was up by +9% in total viewers and +14% in the demo.
CBS Evening News finished the week of May 4 with 3.702 million and 473,000 viewers, respectively. CBS News’ newscast was down -4% in total viewers and -13% in the demo compared to the previous week. Its year-ago week numbers showed the newscast having gains of +2% among total viewers but dropping by -6% in the demo.
*Please note that year-over-year comparisons are based on Nielsen Big Data+Panel (2026) vs. Panel (2025) measurements.
May 4, 2026 (Nielsen Big Data + Panel):
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
| • Total Viewers: | 8,183,000 | 6,125,000 | 3,702,000 |
| • A25-54: | 976,000 | 903,000 | 473,000 |
Source: Nielsen, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49 National Live + Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings. Current Week (w/o 5/4/26), Previous Week (w/o 4/27/26), and Year-Ago Week (w/o 5/5/25). Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2025-2026 Season (9/22/25 – 5/10/26) and 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24 – 5/11/25).
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