The first week of December saw all three evening broadcasts not record any declines in total viewers. With the Thanksgiving holiday weekend over, CBS Evening News, which announced Tony Dokoupil as its latest anchor beginning in January, was the only evening program to grow in both total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo.
Meanwhile, NBC Nightly News was the only newscast to decline in the coveted Adults 25-54 demo.
Note: The weekly averages of ABC World News are based on four days (Monday-Thursday). Friday’s (12/05/25) broadcast was retitled to WNT-ABC due to college football. This broadcast is excluded from the weekly and season averages.
According to national live+same-day big data plus program ratings from Nielsen, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir averaged 8.278 million total viewers and 1.061 million Adults 25-54 demo viewers for the week of December 1. The evening newscast was flat in total viewers and grew by +3% in the A25-54 demo compared to the previous week. Looking at its performance for the same week in 2024 (the week beginning December 2), as previously measured by Nielsen panel data, WNT was up by +8% in total viewers and +5% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas was the No. 2 broadcast in total viewers and the demo, averaging 6.621 million and 900,000 viewers, respectively. The broadcast was up +6% in total viewers but dropped by -2% in the A25-54 demo. When comparing its performance to the same week a year ago, as previously measured by Nielsen panel data, Nightly News was up +6% in total viewers but fell by -4% in the demo.
CBS Evening News had 4.361 million total viewers and 553,000 viewers in the demo for the week of December 1. The broadcast was up +2% in total viewers and +1% in the demo compared to the previous week—the only newscast with positive gains in both measured categories. Its year-ago week numbers, as previously measured by Nielsen panel data, showed the newscast remained flat in total viewers and declined by -1% in the demo.
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
| • Total Viewers: | 8,278,000 | 6,621,000 | 4,361,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,061,000 | 900,000 | 553,000 |
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 12/1/25), Previous Week (w/o 11/24/25) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 12/2/24). Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2025-2026 Season (9/22 – 12/7/25) and 2024-2025 Season (9/23 – 12/8/24).
*Please note that year-over-year comparisons are based on Nielsen Big Data+Panel (2025) vs. Panel (2024) measurements.
