The week leading up to the long Memorial Day holiday weekend was a good one for the three evening news programs, as they finished with no viewership declines in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo.
For the week of May 18, all three newscasts recorded gains in total viewers, while NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas and CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil posted positive movement in the prized demo.
Regarding viewership growth, CBS Evening News fared better than its time-slot competitors during the just-concluded week, especially in the demo, improving by double-digit percentages. It also crossed the 4 million total viewers threshold for the first time in weeks.
Note: The weekly averages for NBC Nightly News and ABC World News Tonight are based on three days. CBS Evening News’ averages are based on four days. Wednesday’s (05/20/2026) NBC News broadcast was retitled to NBC Nitely News, and ABC News’ Thursday’s (05/21/2026) broadcast was retitled to ABC-WNT. All three broadcasts on Friday (05/22/2026) were retitled. 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 8.187 million total viewers and 966,000 Adults 25-54 demo viewers for the week of May 18. The evening newscast was up by +4% among total viewers and flat among A25-54 viewers compared to the previous week. Looking at its performance during the same week in 2025* (the week beginning May 19), WNT was up +14% in total viewers and flat in the demo.
NBC Nightly News was the No. 2 broadcast in total viewers and the demo, averaging 6.093 million and 867,000 viewers, respectively. Compared to the previous week, Nightly News was up by +2% in total viewers and +4% in the demo. It managed to narrow the gap in demo viewership with GMA to 99,000 viewers. When comparing its performance to the same week a year ago, Nightly News was up by +6% in total viewers but was down -1% in the demo—the only newscast with a decline within this yearly comparison.
CBS Evening News finished the week of May 18 with 4.035 million and 608,000 viewers, respectively. CBS News’ newscast was up +6% in total viewers and +21% in the demo compared to the previous week—the only network with double-digit gains in either of the measurements. Its year-ago week numbers showed the newscast gaining +3% among total viewers and +10% in the demo.
*Please note that year-over-year comparisons are based on Nielsen Big Data+Panel (2026) vs. Panel (2025) measurements.
May 18, 2026 (Nielsen Big Data + Panel):
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
| • Total Viewers: | 8,187,000 | 6,093,000 | 4,035,000 |
| • A25-54: | 966,000 | 867,000 | 608,000 |
