FOR 7TH CONSECUTIVE WEEK, THE #1 PROGRAM ON ALL TELEVISION IS ‘ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH DAVID MUIR,’ BEATING NBC BY 1.9 MILLION AND CBS BY 4.0 MILLION, AND IS THE MOST-WATCHED NEWSCAST IN TOTAL VIEWERS, ADULTS 25-54 AND ADULTS 18-49

 

For the seventh consecutive week, “World News Tonight with David Muir” stood as the No. 1 program in Total Viewers (7.824 million) on all of broadcast and cable (excluding sports) during the week of May 25, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

• “World News Tonight” ranked as the No. 1 newscast across broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (7.824 million), Adults 25-54 (961,000) and Adults 18-49 (722,000).
• “World News Tonight” outdelivered “NBC Nightly News” (5.955 million, 800,000 and 603,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+31%/+1.869 million), Adults 25-54 (+20%/+161,000) and Adults 18-49 (+20%/+119,000).
• “World News Tonight” (7.824 million, 961,000 and 722,000, respectively) towered over “CBS Evening News” (3.787 million, 493,000 and 303,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+107%/+4.037 million), Adults 25-54 (+95%/+468,000) and Adults 18-49 (+138%/+419,000).
• “World News Tonight” posted increases on the year-ago week in Total Viewers (+9%/+639,000 – 7.824 million vs. 7.185 million), Adults 25-54 (+7%/+61,000 – 961,000 vs. 900,000) and Adults 18-49 (+18%/+112,000 – 722,000 vs. 610,000). In addition, “World News Tonight” turned in year–to-year gains in overall viewers and in the key Adult news demo for the last 13 weeks.
• Season to date, “World News Tonight” (8.374 million) is ranking No. 1 in Total Viewers for the 10th straight year based on Most Current Big Data+Panel Ratings. “World News Tonight” is leading “NBC Nightly News” (6.527 million) by 1.847 million and “CBS Evening News” (4.086 million) by 4.288 million. In fact, “World News Tonight” is growing its Total Viewer lead over NBC compared to the same point last season (+12% – 1.847 million vs. 1.660 million) to its largest in 31 years — since the 1994-1995 season. “World News Tonight” is also delivering its largest Total Viewer season lead over the CBS program in at least 34 years — since at least the 1991-1992 season; the Nielsen electronic database started in September 1991. In addition, “World News Tonight” is delivering its largest season viewership in 4 years, growing in Total Viewers compared to the same point last season (+4%/+338,000 – 8.374 million vs. 8.036 million) — since the 2021-2022 season.
• “World News Tonight” is ranking No. 1 in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 for the 7th season in a row. “World News Tonight” (1.046 million and 763,000, respectively) is leading NBC (936,000 and 653,000, respectively) by 110,000 Adults 25-54 and by 110,000 Adults 18-49. Additionally, “World News Tonight” is widening margins with “CBS Evening News” (520,000 and 383,000, respectively) by double digits in Adults 25-54 (+13% – 526,000 vs. 465,000) and Adults 18-49 (+12% – 380,000 vs. 340,000) versus the comparable weeks last season.

NOTE: On Monday (5/25/26), all three evening newscasts were coded as specials because of Memorial Day. On Tuesday (5/26/26) and Thursday (5/28/26), “NBC Nightly News” was retitled to “NBC Nitely News.” On Friday (5/29/26), “World News Tonight” was retitled to “WNT-ABC,” and “CBS Evening News” was retitled to “CBS Evening Nws.” The specialed and retitled telecasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages. The weekly averages for “World News Tonight” and “CBS Evening News” are based on three days (Tuesday-Thursday), and the weekly average for “NBC Nightly News” is based on two days (Wednesday and Friday).

ABC’s “World News Tonight with David Muir” airs 6:30-7:00 p.m. ET on ABC. Chris Dinan is the executive producer of the broadcast.

EVENING NEWS (Week of May 25, 2026)

	TOTAL VIEWERS	ADULTS 25-54	ADULTS 18-49
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT	7,824,000	961,000	722,000
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS	5,955,000	800,000	603,000
CBS EVENING NEWS	3,787,000	493,000	303,000

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 5/25/26), Previous Week (w/o 5/18/26) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 5/26/25). Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2025-2026 Season (9/22/25 – 5/31/26) and 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24 – 6/1/25). Beginning 12/26/22, averages are based on Big Data Plus Panel ratings.  Season averages based on Big Data Plus Panel ratings start with the 2023-2024 season. Beginning 9/29/25, “World News Tonight” averages include airings on ABCNL. Nielsen ratings for ABC, NBC and CBS include additional airings in select markets. Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing.

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