Here is TVNewser’s look at the Q2 2026 ratings for evening newscasts and the evening ratings for the week of June 22:
Week of June 22
CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil finished the last week of June with gains in both total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo. It crossed the 4 million total viewers mark during this just-concluded week.
Meanwhile, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir recorded gains in the advertiser-coveted demo for the week of June 22. This positive showing gave ABC News’ evening newscast some life, as it managed to widen the viewership gap in the demo between it and NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas to 65,000 viewers, after 3,000 viewers had separated the two shows the previous week.
According to national live+same-day big data plus program ratings from Nielsen, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir averaged 7.528 million total viewers and 955,000 Adults 25-54 demo viewers for the week of June 22. The evening newscast was down -5% in 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 June 23), WNT was up +2% in total viewers but down -8% in the demo—the only newscast to fall in either of the measured categories during this yearly comparison.
NBC Nightly News was second in total viewers and the demo, averaging 6.341 million and 890,000 viewers, respectively. Compared to the previous week, Nightly News was flat in total viewers and was down -4% in the demo. When comparing its performance to the same week a year ago, Nightly News was up by +10% in total viewers and +6% in the demo.
CBS Evening News finished the week of June 22 with 4.015 million total viewers and 576,000 demo viewers. CBS News’ newscast grew by +2% in total viewers and in the demo compared to the previous week—the only program with gains in both categories. Its year-ago week numbers showed the newscast growing by +3% 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.
June 22, 2026 (Nielsen Big Data + Panel):
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
| • Total Viewers: | 7,528,000 | 6,341,000 | 4,015,000 |
| • A25-54: | 955,000 | 890,000 | 576,000 |
Second Quarter 2026
Turning to the quarterly ratings, all three broadcasts experienced quarter-to-quarter declines in total viewers and the prized Adults 25-54 demo.
The news cycle during this period was not dramatic, which led to quarterly drops across the three networks. WNT continued its second-quarter win streak in total viewers, extending it to seven years. In the demo, ABC News’ program widened the separation between Nightly News, extending it to 87,000 demo viewers during the just-concluded quarter.
