Wed Dec 24 21:50:00 UTC 2025: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Evening News Ratings Dip, But ABC’s ‘World News Tonight’ Dominates for 10th Straight Year

NEW YORK, NY [Date: December 16, 2025] – The week of December 8th saw a slight dip in viewership for the three major evening news broadcasts, according to Nielsen ratings data. ABC’s “World News Tonight with David Muir,” NBC’s “Nightly News with Tom Llamas,” and CBS’s “Evening News” all experienced week-to-week declines in both total viewers and the key Adults 25-54 demographic.

Despite the overall downward trend, “World News Tonight” continued its reign as America’s most-watched evening newscast, securing the top spot in both categories for the 10th consecutive year. “World News Tonight” averaged 7.867 million total viewers and 1 million viewers in the Adults 25-54 demo. While this represents a 5% and 6% decrease respectively from the previous week, its lead over “CBS Evening News” is the largest it has been in at least 34 years, dating back to the 1991-1992 season.

“NBC Nightly News” came in second place, averaging 6.432 million total viewers and 854,000 in the Adults 25-54 demo. The broadcast experienced a 3% decline in total viewers and a 5% dip in the key demo compared to the previous week. However, “Nightly News” was the only broadcast to show year-over-year gains in either category, up 2% in total viewers compared to the same week in 2024.

“CBS Evening News” trailed with 4.152 million total viewers and 528,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demo, down 5% in both categories from the previous week. The broadcast also saw the sharpest year-over-year decline, dropping 11% in total viewers and 23% in the Adults 25-54 demo.

These figures are based on national live+same-day big data plus program ratings from Nielsen.

[End of Release]

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