‘NBC Nightly News’ tops demo ratings amid breaking news week

“NBC Nightly News” delivered strong ratings in the key adults 25-54 demographic during the first week of January, winning all three weekday nights measured and reported so far. 

The 25-54 demo is the most closely watched by advertisers, representing a key age group in news programming.

Sources on background noted that Tuesday’s demo win over ABC, 1.051 million for NBC vs. 934,000 for ABC, was the largest since Tom Llamas took over “Nightly” in June 2025.

According to Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel measurement, the Jan. 5–7 broadcasts saw “NBC Nightly News” draw 1.099 million viewers in the 25-54 demo on Monday, 1.051 million on Tuesday and 1.065 million on Wednesday.

Tom Llamas on legacy, leadership and returning to his roots

ABC’s “World News Tonight” followed closely, with 1.015 million, 934,000 and 1.062 million viewers in the same demo across the three days, respectively. The relaunched “CBS Evening News” trailed both competitors, with 596,000 on Monday, 570,000 on Tuesday and 543,000 on Wednesday.

Tony Dokoupil began his tenure as anchor of “CBS Evening News” on Jan. 5, with the debut drawing 4.4 million total viewers, compared to 8.24 million for ABC and 7.2 million for NBC. With the relaunch, CBS is also uploading full broadcasts to YouTube, joining “Nightly” and “World News Tonight.” However, the first week’s uploads have only averaged 45,000 views according to data reviewed by NCS. 

The debut and ratings period coincided with major breaking news events, including an ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis and military activity in Venezuela involving the removal of Nicolás Maduro.

In recent months, “Nightly” has seen multiple demo wins against “World News Tonight,” with markets such as Cincinnati, Salt Lake City and Minneapolis overperforming.

Advertisement