THE #1 PROGRAM ON ALL OF TELEVISION IS ‘ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH DAVID MUIR’ WITH 8.2 MILLION VIEWERS — AND IS THE MOST-WATCHED NEWSCAST IN TOTAL VIEWERS, ADULTS 25-54 AND ADULTS 18-49, BEATING NBC BY 2.1 MILLION VIEWERS AND CBS BY 4.1 MILLION

For the sixth week in a row, “World News Tonight with David Muir” stood as the No. 1 program in Total Viewers (8.187 million) on all of broadcast and cable (excluding sports) during the week of May 18, 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 (8.187 million), Adults 25-54 (966,000) and Adults 18-49 (727,000).
• “World News Tonight” outperformed “NBC Nightly News” (6.093 million, 867,000 and 639,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+34%/+2.094 million), Adults 25-54 (+11%/+99,000) and Adults 18-49 (+14%/+88,000).
• “World News Tonight” widened its Total Viewers margins over “NBC Nightly News” both week to week (+9% – 2.094 million vs. 1.919 million) and year to year (+37% – 2.094 million vs. 1.524 million).
• “World News Tonight” posted increases on the previous week across the board: Total Viewers (+4%/+298,000 – 8.187 million vs. 7.899 million), Adults 25-54 (+4,000 –966,000 vs. 962,000) and Adults 18-49 (+3%/+18,000 –727,000 vs. 709,000).
• “World News Tonight” improved on the year-ago week in Total Viewers (+11%/+779,000 – 8.187 million vs. 7.408 million), Adults 25-54 (+2,000 –966,000 vs. 964,000) and Adults 18-49 (+1%/+6,000 –727,000 vs. 721,000). In addition, “World News Tonight” turned in year–to-year gains in overall viewers and in the key Adult news demo for the last 12 weeks.
• “World News Tonight” (8.187 million, 966,000 and 727,000, respectively) outperformed “CBS Evening News” (4.035 million, 605,000 and 398,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+104%/+4.152 million), Adults 25-54 (+59%/+358,000) and Adults 18-49 (+81%/+326,000).
• Season to date, “World News Tonight” (8.386 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” (6.534 million) by 1.852 million and “CBS Evening News” (4.091 million) by 4.295 million. In fact, “World News Tonight” is growing its Total Viewer lead over NBC compared to the same point last season (+12% – 1.852 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%/+327,000 – 8.386 million vs. 8.059 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” (1.048 million and 764,000, respectively) is leading NBC (938,000 and 653,000, respectively) by 110,000 Adults 25-54 and by 111,000 Adults 18-49. Additionally, “World News Tonight” is widening margins with “CBS Evening News” (521,000 and 384,000, respectively) by double digits in Adults 25-54 (+13% – 527,000 vs. 466,000) and Adults 18-49 (+12% – 380,000 vs. 340,000) versus the comparable weeks last season.

NOTE: On Wednesday (5/20/26), “NBC Nightly News” was retitled to “NBC Nitely News.” On Thursday (5/21/26), “World News Tonight” was retitled to “WNT-ABC.” On Friday (5/22/26), “World News Tonight,” “NBC Nightly News” and “CBS Evening News” were retitled. The retitled telecasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages. Weekly averages for “World News Tonight” (Monday-Wednesday) and “NBC Nightly News” (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) are based on three days, while “CBS Evening News” is based on four days (Monday-Thursday).

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 18, 2026)

	TOTAL VIEWERS	ADULTS 25-54	ADULTS 18-49
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT	8,187,000	966,000	727,000
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS	6,093,000	867,000	639,000
CBS EVENING NEWS	4,035,000	608,000	401,000

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 5/18/26), Previous Week (w/o 5/11/26) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 5/19/25). Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2025-2026 Season (9/22/25 – 5/24/26) and 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24 – 5/25/25). 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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