WITH 8.4 MILLION VIEWERS, ‘ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT’ 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 4.1 MILLION

 

“World News Tonight with David Muir” ranked as the No. 1 newscast in all of broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (8.356 million), Adults 25-54 (1.133 million) and Adults 18-49 (843,000) during the week of Oct. 12, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

• “World News Tonight” outdelivered “NBC Nightly News” (6.642 million, 1.018 million and 755,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+26%/+1.714 million), Adults 25-54 (+11%/+115,000) and Adults 18-49 (+12%/+88,000).
• “World News Tonight” saw gains on the previous week in Total Viewers (+2%/+137,000 – 8.356 million vs. 8.219 million) and Adults 18-49 (+1%/+7,000 – 843,000 vs. 836,000).
• “World News Tonight” turned in increases on the same week last year in Total Viewers (+9%/+638,000 – 8.356 million vs. 7.658 million), Adults 25-54 (+22%/+206,000 – 1.133 million vs. 927,000) and Adults 18-49 (+34%/+212,000 – 843,000 vs. 631,000). “World News Tonight” turned in year-to-year gains across the board in all four weeks of the season to date.
• “World News Tonight” (8.356 million, 1.133 million and 843,000, respectively) defeated “CBS Evening News” (4.219 million, 655,000 and 479,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+98%/+4.137 million), Adults 25-54 (+73%/+478,000) and Adults 18-49 (+76%/+364,000).
• Season to date, “World News Tonight” is delivering across the board by double-digit increases compared to the same point last season: Total Viewers (+14%/+1.038 million – 8.424 million vs. 7.386 million), Adults 25-54 (+33%/+291,000 – 1.165 million vs. 874,000) and Adults 18-49 (+42%/+254,000 – 857,000 vs. 603,000), based on Most Current Big Data+Panel Ratings. In fact, “World News Tonight” is drawing its largest season viewership in 6 years — since the 2020-2021 season.
• “World News Tonight” (8.424 million) is ranking No. 1 in Total Viewers for the 11th consecutive year, leading “NBC Nightly News” (6.609 million) by 1.815 million and “CBS Evening News” (4.184 million) by 4.240 million. “World News Tonight” is growing its Total Viewer lead over NBC compared to the same point last season by 9% (1.815 million vs. 1.664 million). In addition, “World News Tonight” is delivering its largest Total Viewer season lead over the CBS program in at least 35 years — since at least the 1991-1992 season; the Nielsen electronic database started in September 1991.
• “World News Tonight” is ranking No. 1 in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 for the 8th season in a row. In fact, “World News Tonight” (1.165 million and 857,000, respectively) is increasing its season leads over “NBC Nightly News” (1.006 million and 730,000, respectively) compared to the same point last season by double digits in both Adults 25-54 (+75% – 159,000 vs. 91,000) and Adults 18-49 (+81% – 127,000 vs. 70,000).
• Additionally, “World News Tonight” is widening its margins by double digits with “CBS Evening News” (592,000 and 444,000, respectively) in Adults 25-54 (+28% – 603,000 vs. 449,000) and Adults 18-49 (+40% – 413,000 vs. 295,000) versus last season.

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 Oct. 12, 2026)

	TOTAL VIEWERS	ADULTS 25-54	ADULTS 18-49
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT	8,356,000	1,133,000	843,000
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS	6,642,000	1,018,000	755,000
CBS EVENING NEWS	4,219,000	655,000	479,000

Source: Nielsen Big Data + Panel, L+SD, Week of 10/12/2026. Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2026-2027 Season (9/21 – 10/18/26) and 2025-2026 Season (9/22 – 10/19/26). Average audience based on regularly titled telecasts only.

*COPYRIGHT ©2026 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All photography is copyrighted material and is for editorial use only. Images are not to be archived, altered, duplicated, resold, retransmitted or used for any other purposes without written permission of ABC News. Images are distributed to the press to publicize current programming. Any other usage must be licensed.

Media Contacts

You must be logged in to view this content. Please log in or create an account.