Press release - Ratings
February 24, 2026
NIGHTLINE DRAWS ITS LARGEST OVERALL AUDIENCE IN 7 WEEKS
With Coverage Including the Passing of Beloved ‘Dawson’s Creek’ Star James Van Der Beek, Hillary Duff’s New World Tour Announcement and More, ‘Nightline’ Increases For the Second Week in a Row by Double Digits Across the Board Year to Year
ABC News’ “Nightline” averaged 962,000 Total Viewers, 154,000 Adults 25-54 and 105,000 Adults 18-49, for the week of Feb. 9, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research.
- “Nightline” built on the previous week in Total Viewers (+1% – 962,000 vs. 949,000), Adults 25-54 (+1% – 154,000 vs. 153,000) and Adults 18-49 (+6% – 105,000 vs. 99,000), drawing its largest overall audience in 7 weeks — since w/o 12/22/25.
- For the second week in a row, “Nightline” increased by double digits year to year in Total Viewers (+13% – 962,000 vs. 849,000), Adults 25-54 (+16% – 154,000 vs. 133,000) and Adults 18-49 (+31% – 105,000 vs. 80,000).
- Season to date, “Nightline” (997,000) leads NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (+974,000) in Total Viewers.
- This week, “Nightline” covered the latest in the search for Nancy Guthrie; the passing of “Dawson’s Creek” star James Van Der Beek; Hilary Duff announcing a new world tour and more.
NOTE: For the week, NBC’s “Seth Meyers” was preempted for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
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 FEB. 9, 2026:
| PROGRAM AVERAGES | TOTAL VIEWERS | A25-54(000)/RTG | A18-49(000)/RTG |
| ABC’s “Nightline” | 962,000 | 154,000/0.1 | 105,000/0.1 |
| NBC’s “Late Night” | PREEMPTED |
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 2/9/26), Previous Week (w/o 2/2/25) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 2/10/25). Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2025-2026 Season (9/22/25 – 2/15/26) and 2024-2025 Season (9/23/25 – 2/16/26). 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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