According to Nielsen Media Research, World News Tonight finished the second quarter with 8.2 million total viewers and 1.01 million viewers in the A25-54 demo. When put against the first quarter of 2026, WNT was down by -6% in total viewers and -8% in the demo. Compared with the year-ago quarter (Q2 2025)*, ABC News’ broadcast ratings grew by +13% in total viewers and +3% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News averaged 6.347 million total viewers and 923,000 A25-54 viewers during the just-concluded quarter. The newscast was down -9% in total viewers and -12% in the demo compared to the prior quarter. Checking its performance relative to the year-ago quarter, it was up +10% in total viewers and +12% in the A25-54 demo.
Finally, CBS Evening News finished below the 4 million mark, averaging 3.9 million total viewers and 535,000 A25-54 viewers in Q2 2026. It was down by -9% in total viewers and -1% in the demo vs. the prior quarter. Compared to the second quarter of 2025, it grew by +2% in total viewers and +3% among A25-54 viewers.
Please note that year-over-year comparisons are based on Nielsen Big Data+Panel (2025) vs. Panel (2025) measurements.
2nd Quarter 2026
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
| • Total Viewers: | 8,200,000 | 6,347,000 | 3,900,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,010,000 | 923,000 | 535,000 |
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 6/22/26), Previous Week (w/o 6/15/26), and Year-Ago Week (w/o 6/23/25). Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2025-2026 Season (9/22/25 – 6/28/26) and 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24 – 6/29/25).
