Week of May 19 Evening News Ratings: All 3 Newscasts Enjoy Week-to-Week Growth Ahead of Memorial Day
The period leading into the Memorial Day weekend saw positive viewership engagement. All three evening newscasts experienced ratings gains in total viewers and among Adults 25-54 for the week of May 19.
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and the CBS Evening News both recorded double digit growth in the advertiser-coveted A25-54 demo. That trend was particularly encouraging for CBS News, which saw the departure of network president Wendy McMahon.
Note: The weekly averages of ABC News, NBC News, and CBS News are based on four days (Monday – Thursday). Friday's (05/23/25) broadcasts were retitled due to the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The Friday broadcast of ABC World News Tonight was retitled to WNT-ABC, NBC Nightly News was retitled to NBC Nitely News, and CBS Evening News was retitled to CBS Evening Nws. These broadcasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages.
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir averaged 7.179 million total viewers and 969,000 A25-54 viewers. ABC News' flagship newscast rose by +3% in the former category and +9% in the latter compared to the previous week. Looking at its performance alongside the same week in 2024 (the week beginning May 20), WNT was down -1% in total viewers and -3% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News was the No. 2 newscast in total viewers and the demo, averaging 5.744 million and 872,000 viewers, respectively. Holt's penultimate week in the anchor's chair saw week-to-week gains of +5% in total viewers and +12% in the A25-54 demo. Year-to-year, Nightly News was flat in total viewers and up +8% in the demo.
CBS Evening News saw 3.930 million total viewers and 555,000 A25-54 viewers for respective gains of +4% and +10% in those measured categories relative to the week prior. Year-to-year, the newscast was down -7% in total viewers and -12% in the demo.
ABC
NBC
CBS
• Total Viewers:
7,179,000
5,744,000
3,930,000
• A25-54:
969,000
872,000
555,000
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 5/19/25), Previous Week (w/o 5/12/25) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 5/20/24). Most Current Data Stream: 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24 – 5/25/25) and 2023-2024 Season (9/25/23 – 5/26/24). 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. Averages based on regular telecasts.
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