Press release - Ratings
April 1, 2026
WITH 8.7 MILLION VIEWERS, ‘ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH DAVID MUIR’ WINS THE 1ST QUARTER IN TOTAL VIEWERS, ADULTS 25-54 AND ADULTS 18-49 — DELIVERING LARGEST LEAD OVER NBC IN 31 YEARS AND BIGGEST LEAD OVER CBS SINCE ELECTRONIC RECORDS BEGAN IN 1991 — AND ‘ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT’ IS #1 FOR 36TH CONSECUTIVE QUARTER
‘World News Tonight’ Scores Biggest Quarter Viewership in 3 Years, Growing Across the Board From Previous Quarter and Year-Ago Quarter in Total Viewers
Leading NBC by 2.3 Million Viewers and CBS by 4.7 Million, ‘World News Tonight’ Is the #1 Newscast Across the Board for the Week, Growing Year to Year for the 4th Week in a Row
‘World News Tonight’ Is #1 in Total Viewers for the 10th Year Straight and in Adults 25-54 for the 7th Season in a Row
1st Quarter 2026
For the 6th straight year, ABC News’ “World News Tonight with David Muir” won the 1st quarter in Total Viewers (8.729 million), Adults 25-54 (1.094 million) and Adults 18-49(799,000), based on Most Current Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research. In addition, “World News Tonight” has won in overall viewers and in the key Adult news demos for the 24th consecutive quarter and has stood as the most-watched evening newscast for the 36th quarter in a row — since 2Q20 and 2Q17, respectively.
- “World News Tonight” outperformed “NBC Nightly News” (6.984 million, 1.045 million and 732,000) by 1.745 million Total Viewers, by 49,000 Adults 25-54 and by 67,000 Adults 18-49.
- “World News Tonight” widened its Total Viewer margins over “NBC Nightly News” compared to the previous quarter (+7% – 1.745 million vs. 1.637 million for 4Q25) and the year-ago quarter (+13% – 1.745 million vs. 1.548 million for 1Q25). “World News Tonight” turned in its largest 1st quarter margin in Total Viewers in 31 years — since 1Q95.
- “World News Tonight” improved on the previous quarter (4Q25) by double digits in Total Viewers (+868,000/+11% – 8.729 million vs. 7.861 million), Adults 25-54 (+121,000/+12% – 1.094 million vs. 973,000) and Adults 18-49 (+105,000/+15% – 799,000 vs. 694,000).
- For the second year in a row, “World News Tonight” saw gains on the year-ago quarter (1Q25) in Total Viewers (+339,000/4% – 8.729 million vs. 8.390 million). In fact, “World News Tonight” saw its most-watched quarter in 3 years and posted its best numbers in both key Adult demos in 1 year — since 1Q23 and 1Q25, respectively.
- For the 1st quarter, “World News Tonight” (8.729 million, 1.094 million and 799,000, respectively) beat “CBS Evening News” (4.278 million, 542,000 and 414,000, respectively) by 4.451 million Total Viewers, by 552,000 Adults 25-54 and by 385,000 Adults 18-49. “World News Tonight” delivered its largest Total Viewer advantage during a quarter in at least 34 years — since at least the 1991-1992 season; the Nielsen electronic database started in September 1991.
Week of March 23, 2026
“World News Tonight with David Muir” ranked as the No. 1 newscast in all of broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (8.629 million), Adults 25-54 (1.078 million) and Adults 18-49 (766,000) during the week of March 23, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research.
- “World News Tonight” outdelivered “NBC Nightly News” by double digits (6.329 million, 927,000 and 616,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+36%/+2.300 million), Adults 25-54 (+16%/+151,000) and Adults 18-49 (+34%/+150,000).
- “World News Tonight” widened its advantage over “NBC Nightly News” versus the previous week in Adults 25-54 (+22% – 151,000 vs. 124,000) and Adults 18-49 (+19% – 150,000 vs. 126,000), posting its largest key Adult news demo lead in over 3 months — since w/o 12/15/25.
- For the fifth week in a row, “World News Tonight” increased its Total Viewer margin over “NBC Nightly News” compared to the year-ago week (+47% – 2.300 million vs. 1.566 million) by double digits.
- For the fourth week running, “World News Tonight” improved year to year across the board: Total Viewers (+13%/+983,000 – 8.629 million vs. 7.646 million), Adults 25-54 (+11%/+109,000 – 1.078 million vs. 969,000) and Adults 18-49 (+12%/+85,000 – 766,000 vs. 681,000).
- “World News Tonight” (8.629 million, 1.078 million and 766,000, respectively) more than doubled the performance of “CBS Evening News” (3.911 million, 446,000 and 312,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+121%/+4.718 million), Adults 25-54 (+142%/+632,000) and Adults 18-49 (+146%/454,000), beating the CBS program by triple digits for the seventh week in a row.
- “World News Tonight” increased its gap over “CBS Evening News” versus the year-ago week in Total Viewers (+33% – 4.718 million vs. 3.537 million), Adults 25-54 (+30% – 632,000 vs. 487,000) and Adults 18-49 (+27% – 454,000 vs. 357,000).
- Season to date, “World News Tonight” (8.391 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 1.803 million and “CBS Evening News” (4.145 million) by 4.246 million. In fact, “World News Tonight” is growing its Total Viewer lead over NBC compared to the same point last season (+7% – 1.803 million vs. 1.682 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 (+2%/+184,000 – 8.391 million vs. 8.207 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” (1.047 million and 758,000, respectively) is leading NBC (942,000 and 653,000, respectively) by 105,000 Adults 25-54 and by 105,000 Adults 18-49. Additionally, “World News Tonight” is widening margins with “CBS Evening News” (520,000 and 390,000, respectively) by double digits in Adults 25-54 (+17% – 527,000 vs. 449,000) and Adults 18-49 (+15% – 368,000 vs. 321,000) versus the comparable weeks last season.
NOTE: On Thursday (3/26/26) and Friday (3/27/26), “CBS Evening News” was retitled to “CBS Evening Nws.” On Thursday, “NBC Nightly News” was retitled to “NBC Nitely News,” and on Friday, “World News Tonight” was retitled to “WNT-ABC.” The retitled telecasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages. “World News Tonight”’s (Monday-Thursday) and “NBC Nightly News”’s (Monday-Wednesday and Friday) weekly averages are based on four days, while “CBS Evening News”’s weekly averages are based on three days (Monday-Wednesday).
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 (1st Quarter 2026)
| TOTAL VIEWERS | ADULTS 25-54 | ADULTS 18-49 | |
| ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT | 8,729,000 | 1,094,000 | 799,000 |
| NBC NIGHTLY NEWS | 6,984,000 | 1,045,000 | 732,000 |
| CBS EVENING NEWS | 4,278,000 | 542,000 | 414,000 |
EVENING NEWS (Week of March 23, 2026)
| TOTAL VIEWERS | ADULTS 25-54 | ADULTS 18-49 | |
| ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT | 8,629,000 | 1,078,000 | 766,000 |
| NBC NIGHTLY NEWS | 6,329,000 | 927,000 | 616,000 |
| CBS EVENING NEWS | 3,911,000 | 446,000 | 312,000 |
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 3/23/26), Previous Week (w/o 3/16/26) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 3/24/25). Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2025-2026 Season (9/22/25 – 3/29/26) and 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24 – 3/30/25). Most Current Data Stream – 1Q26: 12/29/25 – 3/29/26, 4Q25: 9/22/25 – 12/28/25 and 1Q25: 12/30/24 – 3/30/25. 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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