Press release - Ratings
April 22, 2026
WITH 8.2 MILLION VIEWERS, ‘ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH DAVID MUIR’ IS AMERICA’S #1 NEWSCAST IN TOTAL VIEWERS, ADULTS 25-54 AND ADULTS 18-49 — LEADING NBC BY 1.7 MILLION VIEWERS AND CBS BY 4.4 MILLION
‘World News Tonight’ Grows Year to Year Across the Board for the 7th Week in a Row
With Largest Viewership in 3 Years, ‘World News Tonight’ Is Winning the Season for the 10th Consecutive Year and by the Largest Margin Over NBC in 31 Years and CBS in at Least 34 Years

“World News Tonight with David Muir” ranked as the No. 1 newscast in all of broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (8.175 million), Adults 25-54 (1.010 million) and Adults 18-49 (744,000) during the week of April 13, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research.
- “World News Tonight” outdelivered “NBC Nightly News” (6.411 million, 943,000 and 658,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+27%/+1.734 million), Adults 25-54 (+7%/+67,000) and Adults 18-49 (+13%/+86,000).
- For the eighth straight week, “World News Tonight” built on its Total Viewer lead over “NBC Nightly News” year to year (+18% – 1.734 million vs. 1.474 million) by double digits.
- For the seventh week in a row, “World News Tonight” saw gains on the same week last year in all key target demos: Total Viewers (+9%/+644,000 – 8.175 million vs. 7.531 million), Adults 25-54 (+3%/+28,000 – 1.010 million vs. 982,000) and Adults 18-49 (+3%/+22,000 – 744,000 vs. 722,000).
- “World News Tonight” (8.175 million, 1.010 million and 744,000, respectively) more than doubled the performance of “CBS Evening News” (3.804 million, 482,000 and 347,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+115%/+4.371 million), Adults 25-54 (+110%/+528,000) and Adults 18-49 (+114%/+397,000).
- “World News Tonight” increased its margins over “CBS Evening News” versus the year-ago week in Total Viewers (+17% – 4.371 million vs. 3.721 million), Adults 25-54 (+11% – 528,000 vs. 474,000) and Adults 18-49 (+2% – 397,000 vs. 388,000).
- Season to date, “World News Tonight” (8.394 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” (6.584 million) by 1.810 million and “CBS Evening News” (4.125 million) by 4.269 million. In fact, “World News Tonight” is growing its Total Viewer lead over NBC compared to the same point last season (+9% – 1.810 million vs. 1.664 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 3 years, growing in Total Viewers compared to the same point last season (+3%/+238,000 – 8.394 million vs. 8.156 million) — since the 2022-2023 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 761,000, respectively) is leading NBC (945,000 and 654,000, respectively) by 103,000 Adults 25-54 and by 107,000 Adults 18-49. Additionally, “World News Tonight” is widening margins with “CBS Evening News” (520,000 and 389,000, respectively) by double digits in Adults 25-54 (+16% – 528,000 vs. 456,000) and Adults 18-49(+13% – 372,000 vs. 330,000) versus the comparable weeks last season.
NOTE: On Friday (4/17/26), “NBC Nightly News” was retitled to “NBC Nitely News.” The retitled telecast is excluded from the weekly and season averages. “NBC Nightly News”’s weekly averages are 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 April 13, 2026)
| TOTAL VIEWERS | ADULTS 25-54 | ADULTS 18-49 | |
| ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT | 8,175,000 | 1,010,000 | 744,000 |
| NBC NIGHTLY NEWS | 6,441,000 | 943,000 | 658,000 |
| CBS EVENING NEWS | 3,804,000 | 482,000 | 347,000 |
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 4/6/26), Previous Week (w/o 3/30/26) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 4/7/25). Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2025-2026 Season (9/22/25 – 4/12/26) and 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24 – 4/13/25). 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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