Press release - Ratings
September 24, 2026
ABC NEWS WINS ACROSS THE BOARD IN LATE NIGHT AND FRIDAY NIGHT
‘Nightline’ Wins and Delivers Its Strongest Performance in Three Months Across the Board for the Week, and Grows Year to Year and Week to Week in All Key Demos
‘20/20’ Ranks as Friday’s No. 1 Newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Drawing Its Largest Audience in Two Months and Growing Year to Year in All Key Measures
“Nightline”
Week of Sept 14, 2026:
ABC News’ “Nightline” ranked No. 1 in Total Viewers (1.024 million), Adults 25-54 (199,000) and Adults 18-49 (157,000) for the week of Sept 14, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research, leading NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
- For the second week in a row, “Nightline” scored increases versus the previous week in Total Viewers (+20% – 1.024 million vs. 855,000), Adults 25-54 (+14% – 199,000 vs. 175,000) and Adults 18-49 (+34% – 157,000 vs. 117,000). “Nightline” delivered its strongest performance across the board in 3 months — since w/o 6/8/26.
- “Nightline” turned in double-digit gains year to year in all key target demos: Total Viewers (+38% – 1.024 million vs. 742,000), Adults 25-54 (+47% – 199,000 vs. 135,000) and Adults 18-49 (+80% – 157,000 vs. 87,000).
NOTE: For the week, NBC’s “Seth Meyers” was retitled to “Seth Meyers-SM.”
2025-2026 Season:
- For the 2025-2026 season, “Nightline” was up in Total Viewers (+6% – 957,000 vs. 906,000) compared to last season.
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. 14, 2026:
| PROGRAM AVERAGES | TOTAL VIEWERS | A25-54(000)/RTG | A18-49(000)/RTG |
| ABC’s “Nightline” | 1,024,000 | 199,000/0.2 | 157,000/0.1 |
| NBC’s “Late Night” | 648,000 | 123,000/0.1 | 93,000/0.1 |
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.
“20/20”
Friday, Sept. 18, 2026:
ABC News’ “20/20: Mr. & Mrs. Murder” ranked as the Friday’s No.1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers (2.972 million), Adults 25-54 (4409,000) and Adults 18-49 (310,000) on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research, outperforming NBC’s “Dateline” (1.427 million, 228,000 and 172,000, respectively).
- “20/20” improved on its most-recent airing in Total Viewers (+10% – 2.972 million vs. 2.711 million on 9/4/26) to score its most-watched telecast in 2 months — since 7/17/26.
- “20/20” increased on its year-ago telecast in Total Viewers (+13% – 2.972 million vs. 2.628 million), Adults 25-54 (+7% – 409,000 vs. 382,000) and Adults 18-49 (+30% – 310,000 vs. 238,000).
ABC News’ “20/20” is the No. 1 award-winning primetime program anchored by David Muir and Deborah Roberts. A proven leader as a long-form newsmagazine for over 45 years, “20/20” features unforgettable, character-driven true-crime mysteries, exclusive newsmaker interviews, hard-hitting investigative reports and in-depth coverage of high-profile stories. Janice Johnston is the executive producer. The two-hour “20/20” events air Fridays from 9-11 p.m. ET on ABC and are available to stream on ABC News digital platforms, Disney+ and Hulu.
For “Nightline,” Current Week (w/o 9/14/26), Previous Week (w/o 9/7/26) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 9/15/25). Season averages Most Current Data Stream: 2025-2026 Season (9/22/25 – 9/20/26) and 2024-2025 Season (9/23/25 – 9/20/26). Season averages based on Big Data Plus Panel ratings start with the 2023-2024 season.
For “20/20”, Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 National Live + Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings for current week telecast (9/18/26) and year-ago telecast (9/12/25) or as dated.“20/20” includes airings on ABCNL, including distributors such as YouTube and Roku. 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. Prior to 8/31/20, ratings did not include OOH viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.
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