Two evening broadcasts, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir and CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil, did not record any audience erosion in total viewers and the advertiser-coveted Adults 25-54 demo during the final week of July.
The news was even better for CBS News’ flagship evening program, as this was the second week being the only newscast with growth in both measured categories. In addition, CBS Evening News finished above the 4 million total viewers mark, achieving this feat for the first time since the week of June 22.
Meanwhile, WNT extended its lead over NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas in the demo. The gap between the two shows jumped from 90,000 viewers the previous week to 130,000 viewers for the week of July 27.
Note: The weekly averages of ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, and CBS Evening News are based on four days (Monday-Thursday). Friday’s (07/31/2026) ABC News broadcasts, NBC News, and CBS News broadcasts were retitled to WNT-ABC, NBC Nitely News, and CBS Evening Nws, respectively. These broadcasts are 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 8.168 million total viewers and 1.078 million Adults 25-54 demo viewers for the week of July 27. The evening newscast was flat among total viewers but up +3% among A25-54 viewers compared to the previous week. Looking at its performance during the same week in 2025* (the week beginning July 28), WNT was up +10% in total viewers and +5% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News finished in second place in total viewers and in the demo, averaging 6.62 million and 948,000 viewers, respectively. Compared to the previous week, Nightly News was flat in total viewers and slid by -1% in the demo. When comparing its performance to the same week a year ago, Nightly News was up by +19% in total viewers and +17% in the demo.
CBS Evening News finished the week of July 27 with 4.127 million total viewers and 570,000 demo viewers. CBS News’ newscast grew by +4% in total viewers and +10% in the demo compared to the previous week. Its year-ago week numbers showed CBS Evening News gaining viewers by +8% among total viewers and +3% in the demo.
*Please note that year-over-year comparisons are based on Nielsen Big Data+Panel (2026) vs. Panel (2025) measurements.
July 27, 2026 (Nielsen Big Data + Panel):
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
| • Total Viewers: | 8,168,000 | 6,620,000 | 4,127,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,078,000 | 948,000 | 570,000 |
