David Muir’s “World News Tonight” continued its ratings streak over NBC News’ “Nightly News,” beating the program in total viewers for the fourth week in a row.
For the week of April 20th, ABC’s WNT attracted 8,219,000 viewers vs. NBC’s 8,097,000 viewers–a 122,000 viewer gap. WNT also won in the advertising-coveted 25-54 demo, 2,053,000 viewers vs NBC’s 1,873,000 viewers–a 180,000 viewer difference.
ABC reached the trifecta, winning in the 18-49 demo, 1,406,000 viewers vs. NBC’s 1,302,000 viewers–a 104,000 viewer difference.
The victory comes amid reports that new NBC News Chairman Andy Lack is seeking any way possible to bring suspended NBC News anchor Brian Williams back.
Williams has been sidelined since the beginning of February after NBC suspended him for six months for exaggerating that his helicopter was shot down by RPG fire in Iraq in 2003.
Lester Holt has been filling in for Williams since early February, but lost the network’s five-year total viewers winning streak four weeks ago.
Over the weekend, new revelations came out that NBC’s internal review of Williams’ previous reporting has shown up to 10 instances of exaggerations in his reporting, ranging from the Arab Spring to the 2006 Israel/Hezbollah conflict to his account of receiving fragments of the helicopter used in the mission that killed Osama bin Laden.