Press release - Ratings
September 18, 2026
ABC NEWS’ ‘NIGHTLINE’ WINS LATE NIGHT ACROSS THE BOARD
‘Nightline’ Delivers Its Largest Audience in 2 Months and Its Strongest Performance in Both Key Demos 3 Months
‘Nightline’ Grows Week to Week in All Key Demos and Year to Year in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54
Season to Date, ‘Nightline’ Is Up in Total Viewers Versus the Same Point Last Season
ABC News’ “Nightline” ranked No. 1 in Total Viewers (855,000), Adults 25-54 (175,000) and Adults 18-49 (117,000) for the week of Sept. 7, 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” posted gains week to week in Total Viewers (+9% – 855,000 vs. 783,000), Adults 25-54 (+30% – 175,000 vs. 135,000) and Adults 18-49 (+9% – 117,000 vs. 107,000). “Nightline” drew its largest overall audience in two months and strongest performance in both key Adult demos in three months — since weeks of 7/6/26 and 6/8/26, respectively.
- For the sixth week running, “Nightline” increased year to year in Total Viewers (+8% – 855,000 vs. 789,000) and Adults 25-54 (+1% – 175,000 vs. 173,000).
- Season to date, “Nightline” is up in Total Viewers (+5% – 954,000 vs. 908,000) versus the same point last season.
NOTE: On Monday (9/7/26), “Nightline” was coded as a special due to Labor Day. The specialed telecast is excluded from the weekly and season averages. “Nightline”’s weekly averages are based on four days (Tuesday-Friday). For the week, NBC’s “Seth Meyers” was retitled to “Seth Meyers-SM.”
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 SEPT. 7, 2026:
| PROGRAM AVERAGES | TOTAL VIEWERS | A25-54(000)/RTG | A18-49(000)/RTG |
| ABC’s “Nightline” | 855,000 | 175,000/0.1 | 117,000/0.1 |
| NBC’s “Late Night” | 683,000 | 150,000/0.1 | 115,000/0.1 |
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 9/7/26), Previous Week (w/o 8/31/26) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 9/8/25). Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2025-2026 Season (9/22/25 – 9/13/26) and 2024-2025 Season (9/23/25 – 9/14/26). 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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