ABC leads total viewers as NBC wins key demo in evening news ratings

ABC’s “World News Tonight with David Muir” remained the most-watched evening newscast during the week of Aug. 3, 2026, while NBC’s “Nightly News with Tom Llamas” edged ABC among adults 25–54, giving the two broadcasts separate ratings wins for the week.

“World News Tonight” averaged 8.339 million total viewers, compared with 6.657 million for “Nightly News” and 3.913 million for the “CBS Evening News,” according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel spanning live and same-day ratings across all platforms. 

NBC, however, finished first among adults 25–54, the demographic traditionally used to measure news programming. “Nightly News” averaged 1.065 million viewers in the category, 26,000 more than ABC’s 1.039 million. CBS averaged 514,000.

The NBC broadcast also topped ABC in adults 25–54 for three consecutive nights beginning Monday. Its weekly demographic audience was its largest since the week of Feb. 16, 2026.

That average, however, excludes the Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, broadcast, which the network opted to retitle due to NFL preemptions in select markets.

ABC retained the lead among adults 18–49, averaging 819,000 viewers compared with NBC’s 768,000 and CBS’s 395,000.

“World News Tonight” was the most-watched nonsports program across broadcast and cable for the 17th consecutive week. Its total audience increased 2% from the previous week and 17% from the comparable week last year. The broadcast also posted year-over-year increases of 17% among adults 25–54 and 41% among adults 18–49.

It was also the only newscast to deliver 8.6 million total viewers on the first Monday of August, a month that is traditionally considered a time when overall television viewership slumps. 

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ABC’s total audience includes double airings in select West Coast markets, on-demand streams on Hulu and Disney+, streaming on ABC News Live and overnight repeats on the ABC network. 

NBC also recorded sizable year-over-year gains. “Nightly News” increased 19% in total viewers, 54% among adults 25–54 and 66% among adults 18–49 compared with the same week in 2025.

The NBC broadcast has now posted year-over-year growth across all three measurements for 27 consecutive weeks. Season to date, it is up 4% in total viewers, 10% among adults 25-54 and 14% among adults 18-49.

NBC’s ratings include overnight repeats and on-demand streaming on Peacock, which a source noted is a relatively new practice that has affected total viewership figures.

ABC continues to hold the season-to-date advantage. “World News Tonight” is averaging 8.328 million total viewers, compared with 6.521 million for NBC and 4.050 million for CBS.

“World News Tonight” also holds the lead for the season over NBC in 31 years, winning in all demos, including Adults 25–54 and Adults 18–49.

ABC also leads NBC season to date among adults 25-54, 1.038 million to 940,000, and adults 18-49, 763,000 to 660,000.

For the week of Aug. 3, the evening newscast averages were:

• “ABC World News Tonight”: 8.339 million (total), 1.039 million (adults 25–54), 819,000 (adults 18–49)
• “NBC Nightly News”: 6.657 million (total), 1.065 million (adults 25–54), 768,000 (adults 18–49)
• “CBS Evening News”: 3.913 million (total), 514,000 (adults 25–54), 395,000 (adults 18–49)