Press release - Ratings
January 30, 2026
ABC NEWS’ ‘NIGHTLINE’ RANKS NO. 1 IN TOTAL VIEWERS
‘Nightline’ Grows Year to Year in Total Viewers
Season To Date, ‘Nightline’ Leads ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers’ in Total Viewers

ABC News’ “Nightline” ranked No. 1 in Total Viewers (888,000) for the week of Jan. 19, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research, leading NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
- “Nightline” was up year to year in Total Viewers (+4% – 888,000 vs. 852,000).
- Season to date, “Nightline” (993,000) leads NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (964,000) in Total Viewers.
- This week “Nightline” covered the prospect of a new federal investigation into Ellen Greenberg’s case; Brooklyn Beckham breaking his silence on his family drama; Prince Harry giving an emotional testimony in a long-running UK court case; new text messages between Taylor Swift and Blake Lively being released by a judge as part of Lively’s lawsuit against her “It Ends With Us” co-star Justin Baldoni; “I’m Glad My Mom Died” author Jennette McCurdy’s new book, “Half His Age”; and more.
NOTE: On Monday (1/19/26), “Nightline” was coded as a special. On Friday (1/23/26), NBC’s “Seth Meyers” was retitled to “Seth Meyers-SM” for being a repeat. The specialed and repeat telecasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages. ABC’s (Tuesday-Friday) and NBC’s (Monday-Thursday) weekly averages are based on four days.
ABC News’ “Nightline” is late-night television’s prestigious, award-winning news program featuring the most powerful, in-depth stories that shape our lives and the world around us. It is anchored by Juju Chang and Byron Pitts. Eman Varoqua is executive producer. The program airs weeknights from 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET on ABC. “Nightline” has also produced numerous original documentaries available on ABC News’ digital platforms, Disney+ and Hulu.
WEEK OF JAN. 19, 2026:
| PROGRAM AVERAGES | TOTAL VIEWERS | A25-54(000)/RTG | A18-49(000)/RTG |
| ABC’s “Nightline” | 888,000 | 144,000/0.1 | 89,000/0.1 |
| NBC’s “Late Night” | 772,000 | 146,000/0.1 | 98,000/0.1 |
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 1/19/26), Previous Week (w/o 1/12/25) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 1/20/25). Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2025-2026 Season (9/22/25 – 1/25/26) and 2024-2025 Season (9/23/25 – 1/26/26). Season averages based on Big Data Plus Panel ratings start with the 2023-2024 season. Beginning 12/26/22, averages are based on Big Data Plus Panel ratings. Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.
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