ABC World News Tonight with David Muir continues to cement itself as the No. 1 newscast in America, as it finished the week of April 20 with gains in both total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo.
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas and CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil finished in the red in both measured categories. In addition, CBS Evening News had the unfortunate distinction of finishing below 4 million total viewers for three consecutive weeks. It also remained below 500,000 viewers in the prized demo, similarly extending the streak to three weeks.
Note: The weekly averages of ABC News, NBC News, and CBS News are based on different periods: ABC News’ average is based on three days (Monday-Wednesday), while NBC News’ averages are based on three days (Wednesday-Friday). CBS News’ averages are based on four days (Monday – Thursday). Thursday and Friday’s (04/23/26 and 04/24/26) World News Tonight broadcasts were retitled to WNT-ABC. Monday and Tuesday’s (04/20/26 and 04/21/26) Nightly News broadcasts were retitled to NBC Nitely News. Friday’s CBS Evening News was retitled to CBS Evening Nws. These broadcasts were excluded from the weekly and season averages.
According to national live+same-day big data plus program ratings from Nielsen, ABC World News Tonight averaged 8.537 million total viewers and 1.56 million Adults 25-54 demo viewers for the week of April 20. The evening newscast grew by +4% among total viewers and +5% among A25-54 viewers compared to the previous week. Looking at its performance during the same week in 2025* (the week beginning April 21), WNT was up +15% in total viewers and +1% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News was No. 2 in total viewers and the demo, averaging 6.168 million and 831,000 viewers, respectively. Compared to the previous week, Nightly News was down -4% in total viewers and -12% in the demo—the only program with a double-digit decline. When comparing its performance to the same week a year ago, Nightly News was up by +8% in total viewers and in the demo.
CBS Evening News finished the week of April 20 with 3.771 million and 467,000 viewers, respectively. CBS News’ newscast was down -1% in total viewers and -3% in the demo compared to the previous week. Its year-ago week numbers showed the newscast fell by -2% among total viewers and -12% in the demo.
*Please note that year-over-year comparisons are based on Nielsen Big Data+Panel (2026) vs. Panel (2025) measurements.
April 20, 2026 (Nielsen Big Data + Panel):
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
| • Total Viewers: | 8,537,000 | 6,168,000 | 3,771,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,056,000 | 831,000 | 467,000 |
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 4/20/26), Previous Week (w/o 4/13/26), and Year-Ago Week (w/o 4/21/25). Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2025-2026 Season (9/22/25 – 4/26/26) and 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24 – 4/27/25).
