WITH 8.4 MILLION VIEWERS, ‘ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH DAVID MUIR’ IS THE #1 NEWSCAST IN TOTAL VIEWERS, ADULTS 25-54 AND ADULTS 18-49 — OUTDELIVERING NBC BY NEARLY 2 MILLION VIEWERS AND CBS BY 4.6 MILLION

 

“World News Tonight with David Muir” ranked as the No. 1 newscast in all of broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (8.417 million), Adults 25-54 (1.067 million) and Adults 18-49 (785,000) during the week of April 6, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

• “World News Tonight” outperformed “NBC Nightly News” (6.434 million, 909,000 and 642,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+31%/+1.983 million), Adults 25-54 (+17%/+158,000) and Adults 18-49 (+22%/+143,000).
• “World News Tonight” widened its advantage over “NBC Nightly News” versus the previous week in Total Viewers (+5% – 1.983 million vs. 1.895 million), Adults 25-54 (+532% – 158,000 vs. 25,000) and Adults 18-49 (+10% – 143,000 vs. 130,000), posting its largest key Adult news demo lead in nearly 4 months — since w/o 12/15/25.
• For the seventh week in a row, “World News Tonight” grew its Total Viewer lead over “NBC Nightly News” versus the same week last year (+23% – 1.983 million vs. 1.618 million) by double digits.
• For the sixth week running, “World News Tonight” improved year to year across the board: Total Viewers (+8%/+646,000 – 8.417 million vs. 7.771 million), Adults 25-54 (+7%/+70,000 – 1.067 million vs. 997,000) and Adults 18-49 (+9%/+63,000 – 785,000 vs. 722,000).
• “World News Tonight” (8.417 million, 1.067 million and 785,000, respectively) more than doubled the performance of “CBS Evening News” (3.807 million, 477,000 and 326,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+121%/+4.610 million), Adults 25-54 (+124%/+590,000) and Adults 18-49 (+141%/459,000).
• “World News Tonight” widened its lead over “CBS Evening News” compared to the same week last year in Total Viewers (+15% – 4.610 million vs. 4.000 million), Adults 25-54 (+9% – 590,000 vs. 540,000) and Adults 18-49 (+14% – 459,000 vs. 404,000).
• Season to date, “World News Tonight” (8.400 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” (6.588 million) by 1.812 million and “CBS Evening News” (4.136 million) by 4.264 million. In fact, “World News Tonight” is growing its Total Viewer lead over NBC compared to the same point last season (+8% – 1.812 million vs. 1.671 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%/+224,000 – 8.400 million vs. 8.176 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” (1.049 million and 761,000, respectively) is leading NBC (945,000 and 654,000, respectively) by 104,000 Adults 25-54 and by 107,000 Adults 18-49. Additionally, “World News Tonight” is widening margins with “CBS Evening News” (521,000 and 390,000, respectively) by double digits in Adults 25-54 (+16% – 528,000 vs. 455,000) and Adults 18-49 (+13% – 371,000 vs. 328,000) versus the comparable weeks last season.

NOTE: On Friday (4/10/26), “CBS Evening News” was retitled to “CBS Evening Nws,” and “NBC Nightly News” was retitled to “NBC Nitely News.” The retitled telecasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages. The weekly averages for “CBS Evening News” and “NBC Nightly News” 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 6, 2026)

	TOTAL VIEWERS	ADULTS 25-54	ADULTS 18-49
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT	8,417,000	1,067,000	785,000
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS	6,434,000	909,000	642,000
CBS EVENING NEWS	3,807,000	477,000	326,000

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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