WITH 8.5 MILLION VIEWERS, ‘ABC NEWS WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH DAVID MUIR’ IS THE #1 NEWSCAST ACROSS TOTAL VIEWERS, ADULTS 25-54 AND ADULTS 18-49, LEADING NBC BY 1.8 MILLION AND CBS BY 4.3 MILLION

“World News Tonight with David Muir” ranked as the No. 1 newscast in all of broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (8.454 million), Adults 25-54 (1.157 million) and Adults 18-49 (805,000) during the week of Oct. 26, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

• “World News Tonight” outdelivered “NBC Nightly News” (6.652 million, 1.049 million and 771,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+27%/+1.802 million), Adults 25-54 (+10%/+108,000) and Adults 18-49 (+4%/+34,000).
• “World News Tonight” widened its Adults 25-54 lead over “NBC Nightly News” week to week by +19% (108,000 vs. 91,000).

• “World News Tonight” increased its margins over “NBC Nightly News” on the year-ago week in Total Viewers (+13% – 1.802 million vs. 1.600 million) and Adults 25-54 (+7% – 108,000 vs. 101,000).
• “World News Tonight” improved on the same week last year in Total Viewers (+9%/+699,000 – 8.454 million vs. 7.755 million), Adults 25-54 (+22%/+208,000 – 1.157 million vs. 949,000) and Adults 18-49 (+19%/+126,000 – 805,000 vs. 679,000), seeing year-to-year gains across the board in all six weeks of the season, to date.

• “World News Tonight” (8.454 million, 1.157 million and 805,000, respectively) defeated “CBS Evening News” (4.187 million, 590,000 and 454,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+102%/+4.267 million), Adults 25-54 (+96%/+567,000) and Adults 18-49 (+77%/+351,000).
• Season to date, “World News Tonight” is delivering across the board by double-digit increases compared to the same point last season: Total Viewers (+13%/+965,000 – 8.517 million vs. 7.552 million), Adults 25-54 (+30%/+273,000 – 1.173 million vs. 900,000) and Adults 18-49 (+36%/+226,000 – 851,000 vs. 625,000), 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” (8.517 million) is ranking No. 1 in Total Viewers for the 11th consecutive year, leading “NBC Nightly News” (6.646 million) by 1.871 million and “CBS Evening News” (4.265 million) by 4.252 million. “World News Tonight” is growing its Total Viewer lead over NBC compared to the same point last season by 8% (1.871 million vs. 1.727 million) to its largest in 32 years — since the 1994-1995 season. 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” (1.173 million and 851,000, respectively) is increasing its season leads over “NBC Nightly News” (1.032 million and 751,000, respectively) compared to the same point last season by double digits in both Adults 25-54 (+40% – 141,000 vs. 101,000) and Adults 18-49 (+11% – 100,000 vs. 90,000).
• Additionally, “World News Tonight” is widening its margins by double digits with “CBS Evening News” (609,000 and 454,000, respectively) in Adults 25-54 (+23% – 564,000 vs. 458,000) and Adults 18-49 (+31% – 397,000 vs. 304,000) versus last season.

NOTE: On Friday (10/30/26), “World News Tonight” was retitled to “WNT-ABC,” “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 “World News Tonight,” “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 Oct. 26, 2026)

	TOTAL VIEWERS	ADULTS 25-54	ADULTS 18-49
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT	8,454,000	1,157,000	805,000
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS	6,652,000	1,049,000	771,000
CBS EVENING NEWS	4,187,000	590,000	454,000

Source: Nielsen Big Data + Panel, L+SD, Week of 10/26/2026. Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2026-2027 Season (9/21 – 11/1/26) and 2025-2026 Season (9/22 – 11/2/26). Average audience based on regularly titled telecasts only.

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