For the first time in 24 years, ABC’s “World News Tonight With David Muir” won the 2019-2020 season over its broadcast competitors in every major demo, including total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research data.
The nightly news program also won every night of the season, a feat it hasn’t accomplished in at least 28 years, since Nielsen began its electronic database in the 1991-1992 season.
In total through the season, ABC’s “World News Tonight” averaged 9.385 million total viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” averaged a total of 8.269 million and CBS’s “Evening News” brought in a total average of 5.863 million. This is the fourth consecutive season that “World News Tonight” is most-watched among its competitors.
In the advertiser-coveted age demographic of 25 to 54, “World News Tonight” saw an average of 1.877 viewers. NBC brought in an average of 1.776 million demo viewers while CBS took in an average of 1.101 million.
In the other key age demo, 18-to-49, ABC stayed on top, pulling in an average of 1.268 million viewers. In that demo, NBC saw 1.231 million, on average, and CBS garnered an average of 784,000.
Also notable for the telecast is the improvement over the 2018-2019 season. “World News Tonight” increased total viewers by 9%, going from an average of 8.610 million to 9.385 million, on average. Both key age demos saw improvements of 9%, as well, with the 25-to-54 rising from last season’s average of 1.72 million and 18-to-49 rising from an average of 1.165 million.