WITH LARGEST AUDIENCE IN TWO YEARS WITH 8.1 MILLION VIEWERS, ‘WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH DAVID MUIR’ IS AMERICA’S #1 NEWSCAST FOR THE 1ST QUARTER ACROSS THE BOARD, OUTDELIVERING BOTH NBC AND CBS BY THE BIGGEST MARGINS IN 4 YEARS — 1.5 MILLION MORE THAN NBC AND 3.5 MILLION MORE THAN CBS

 

1st Quarter 2025

For the 5th consecutive year, ABC News’ “World News Tonight with David Muir” won the 1st quarter in Total Viewers (8.132 million), Adults 25-54 (1.158 million) and Adults 18-49 (806,000), based on Most Current Data from Nielsen Media Research. In addition, “World News Tonight” has won in overall viewers and in the key Adult news demo for the 21st straight quarter and has stood as the most-watched evening newscast for the 32nd quarter in a row — since 1Q20 and 2Q17, respectively.

• “World News Tonight” outperformed “NBC Nightly News” (6.598 million, 983,000 and 652,000) by 1.534 million Total Viewers, by 154,000 Adults 25-54 and by 175,000 Adults 18-49.
• “World News Tonight” widened its margins over “NBC Nightly News” compared to the year-ago quarter (1Q24) by double digits in Total Viewers (+17% – 1.534 million vs. 1.309 million), Adults 25-54 (+24% – 175,000 vs. 141,000) and Adults 18-49 (+38% – 154,000 vs. 112,000). “World News Tonight” posted its largest 1st quarter margins in 4 years in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, and in 3 years in Adults 25-54 — since 1Q21 and 1Q22, respectively.
• “World News Tonight” saw gains versus the same quarter last year (1Q24) in Total Viewers (+12,000 – 8.132 million vs. 8.120 million), Adults 25-54 (+24,000/+2% – 1.158 million vs. 1.134 million) and Adults 18-49 (+34,000/+4% – 806,000 vs. 772,000). In addition, “World News Tonight” stood as the only evening newscast to grow from the year-ago quarter.
• “World News Tonight” increased its lead over NBC versus the previous quarter (4Q24) in Total Viewers (1.534 million vs. 1.530 million) and Adults 18-49 (+9% – 154,000 vs. 141,000).
• “World News Tonight” improved on the previous quarter (4Q24) in Total Viewers (+290,000/+7% – 8.132 million vs. 7.596 million), Adults 25-54 (+80,000/+8% – 1.158 million vs. 1.064 million) and Adults 18-49 (+59,000/+9% – 806,000 vs. 737,000). “World News Tonight” saw its most-watched quarter in 2 years and posted its best numbers in both key Adult demos in nearly 2 years — since 1Q23 and 2Q23, respectively.
• For the 1st quarter, “World News Tonight” (8.132 million, 1.158 million and 806,000, respectively) beat “CBS Evening News” (4.586 million, 657,000 and 439,000, respectively) by 3.546 million Total Viewers, by 501,000 Adults 25-54 and by 367,000 Adults 18-49.

Week of March 24, 2025

“World News Tonight with David Muir” ranked as the No. 1 evening newscast in all of broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (7.412 million), Adults 25-54 (1.023 million) and Adults 18-49 (694,000) during the week of March 24, 2025, based on Live+Same Day Data from Nielsen Media Research.

• “World News Tonight” outdelivered “NBC Nightly News” (5.862 million, 820,000 and 510,000, respectively) by550 million Total Viewers, by 203,000 Adults 25-54 and by 184,000 Adults 18-49.
• “World News Tonight” widened its margins week to week over “NBC Nightly News” in Total Viewers (+6% – 1.550 million vs. 1.462 million), Adults 25-54 (+16% – 203,000 vs. 175,000) and Adults 18-49 (+22% – 184,000 vs. 151,000), posting its largest in both key Adult demos in 6 weeks — since w/0 2/10/25.
• “World News Tonight” increased its lead over “NBC Nightly News” year to year by double digits in Total Viewers (+29% – 1.550 million vs. 1.201 million), Adults 25-54 (+49% – 203,000 vs. 136,000) and Adults 18-49 (+64% – 184,000 vs. 112,000).
• For the week, “World News Tonight” (7.412 million, 1.023 million and 694,000, respectively) beat “CBS Evening News” (4.005 million, 546,000 and 365,000, respectively) by 3.407 million Total Viewers, by 477,000 Adults 25-54 and by 329,000 Adults 18-49.
• Season to date, “World News Tonight” (7.904 million) is ranking No. 1 in Total Viewers for the 9th consecutive year, based on Most Current Data. “World News Tonight” is leading “NBC Nightly News” (6.332 million) by 1.572 million and “CBS Evening News” (4.574 million) by 3.330 million. In fact, “World News Tonight” is growing its Total Viewer lead over NBC compared to the same point last season (+31% – 1.572 million vs. 1.204 million) to its largest in 30 years — since the 1994-1995 season.
• “World News Tonight” is ranking No. 1 in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 for the 6th straight season. The ABC newscast is the only evening newscast to improve over the same point last season in Adults 25-54 (1.123 million vs. 1.120 million) and Adults 18-49 (+1% – 777,000 vs. 768,000). In addition, “World News Tonight” (1.123 million and 777,000, respectively) is leading NBC (938,000 and 624,000, respectively), nearly doubling its margins from the same point last season in Adults 25-54 (+95% – 185,000 vs. 95,000) and Adults 18-49 (+96% – 153,000 vs. 78,000). In addition, “World News Tonight” is leading “CBS Evening News” (665,000 and 445,000, respectively) by 458,000 Adults 25-54 and by 332,000 Adults 18-49.

NOTE: On Thursday (3/27/25) and Friday (3/28/25), “CBS Evening News” was retitled to “CBS Evening Nws.” On Thursday, “NBC Nightly News” was retitled to “NBC Nitely News.” The retitled telecasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages. NBC’s weekly averages are based on four days (Monday-Wednesday and Friday), while CBS’ weekly averages are based on three days (Monday-Wednesday).

ABC’s “World News Tonight with David Muir” airs 6:30-7:00 p.m. EDT on ABC. Chris Dinan is the executive producer of the broadcast.

EVENING NEWS (1st Quarter 2025)

	TOTAL VIEWERS	ADULTS 25-54	ADULTS 18-49	HOUSEHOLDS
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT	8,132,000	0.9/11; 1,158,000	0.6/10; 806,000	4.8/16
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS	6,598,000	0.8/9; 983,000	0.5/8; 652,000	3.9/13
CBS EVENING NEWS	4,586,000	0.5/6; 657,000	0.3 /6; 439,000	2.8/ 9

EVENING NEWS (Week of March 24, 2025)

	TOTAL VIEWERS	ADULTS 25-54	ADULTS 18-49	HOUSEHOLDS
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT	7,412,000	0.8/11; 1,023,000	0.5/10; 694,000	4.4/16
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS	5,862,000	0.7/9; 820,000	0.4/7; 510,000	3.5/13
CBS EVENING NEWS	4,005,000	0.4/6; 546,000	0.3 /5; 365,000	2.4/ 9

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.

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ABC News Media Relations
Van Scott
van.scott@abc.com

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