As prime-time linear TV viewership continues to erode, especially within the past five months amidst the Hollywood writers and actors strikes, the evening national newscasts have increasingly become more comparatively potent on network television. ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir has not only won the evening news battle over NBC and CBS, it has been one of TV’s most-watched non-sports programs per week.
For Nov. 7-9, according to Nielsen Media Research, World News Tonight averaged 8.291 million total viewers, ranking No. 1 for a non-sports program on all of television for the week ending Nov. 12. It also achieved its most-watched week in eight months as coverage of the Israel-Hamas war continued. WNT also achieved a months-long best key 25-54 demographic audience of 1.154 million.
While the NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt still trails its ABC counterpart, it too achieved its best total audience figures in eight months with an average of 6.899 million viewers (for Nov. 6-7 & Nov. 9-10) — the week’s No. 3 non-sports TV program. Nightly News is the only evening news broadcast to increase total viewers versus both last year — up one percent from 6.833 million for Nov. 7-11, 2022 (week of the midterm elections) — and its prior week — up two percent from 6.767 million for Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 2023.
In key demos, NBC’s evening newscast delivered 1.08 million adults 25-54 and 775,000 adults 18-49 — the latter demo delivery topping WNT (767,000).
For Tuesday, Nov. 7 alone, ABC’s World News Tonight had maintained its evening news lead in total viewers (8.281 million) over Nightly News (7.179 million). Nonetheless, NBC’s newscast earned the advantages in key demos among 25-54 (1.121 million vs. ABC’s 1.116 million) and 18-49 (836,000 vs. ABC’s 724,000). It marks the fifth consecutive week NBC Nightly News bested WNT in key demos for at least one night of the week, a trend last accomplished in December 2019.
The recent minor demo wins by NBC were perhaps influenced by its exposure on YouTube where its weekday episodes for the week of Nov. 6 reached 718,000 views and 562,000 viewers, according to Adobe Analytics and Partner Portals and the YouTube Analytics Portal.
As for the CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell, it averaged 4.953 million total viewers (up one percent from Oct. 30-Nov. 3), 678,000 adults 25-54, and 461,000 adults 18-49 for Nov. 6-10, 2023.
Cable news averages for October 30-November 5, 2023:
Total Day (Oct. 30-Nov. 5 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.281 million viewers; 148,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.822 million viewers; 87,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.492 million viewers; 99,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.152 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.130 million viewers; 37,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.118 million viewers; 14,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.116 million viewers; 26,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.072 million viewers; 17,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.072 million viewers; 13,000 adults 25-54
- Court TV: 0.039 million viewers; 12,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (Oct. 30-Nov. 4 @ 8-11 p.m.; Nov. 5 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.859 million viewers; 203,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.162 million viewers; 110,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.554 million viewers; 127,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.207 million viewers; 16,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.104 million viewers; 20,000 adults 25-54
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:
1. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 10/30/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.282 million viewers
2. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 11/1/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.965 million viewers
3. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 10/31/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.944 million viewers
4. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 11/2/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.924 million viewers
5. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 11/3/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.748 million viewers
6. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Wed. 11/1/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.713 million viewers
7. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 11/1/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.576 million viewers
8. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Mon. 10/30/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.533 million viewers
9. Special Report with Bret Baier (FOXNC, Mon. 10/30/2023 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.406 million viewers
10. The Ingraham Angle (FOXNC, Mon. 10/30/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.358 million viewers
32. Deadline: White House (MSNBC, Wed. 11/1/2023 4:00 PM, 120 min.) 1.788 million viewers
171. Erin Burnett Outfront (CNN, Thu. 11/2/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.841 million viewers
219. Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO, Fri. 11/3/2023 10:01 PM, 57 min.) 0.704 million viewers
288. Rob Schmitt Tonight (NMX, Mon. 10/30/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.566 million viewers
374. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 11/5/2023 11:00 PM, 39 min.) 0.388 million viewers
402. Varney & Company (FBN, Mon. 10/30/2023 10:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.340 million viewers
425. The Daily Show “Oct 30, 23- Charlamagne Tha God” (CMDY, Mon. 10/30/2023 11:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.314 million viewers
454. Closing Bell (CNBC, Wed. 11/1/2023 3:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.279 million viewers
484. Forensic Files (HLN, late Mon. 10/30/2023 12:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.254 million viewers
665. Cuomo (NWSN, Tue. 10/31/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.175 million viewers
701. Mayday: Air Disaster “(204) Alarming Silence” (TWC, Sun. 11/5/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.162 million viewers
863. FBI Files (COURT TV, Sun. 11/5/2023 11:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.104 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:
1. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 11/3/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.315 million adults 25-54
2. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Wed. 11/1/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.312 million adults 25-54
3. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 10/30/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.311 million adults 25-54
4. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 11/1/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.300 million adults 25-54
5. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Thu. 11/2/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.292 million adults 25-54
6. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Mon. 10/30/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.290 million adults 25-54
7. Special Report with Bret Baier (FOXNC, Mon. 10/30/2023 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.286 million adults 25-54
8. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 10/31/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.284 million adults 25-54
9. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Mon. 10/30/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.280 million adults 25-54
10. The Ingraham Angle (FOXNC, Mon. 10/30/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.278 million adults 25-54
38. The Beat with Ari Melber (MSNBC, Mon. 10/30/2023 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.202 million adults 25-54
53. The Source with Kaitlan Collins (CNN, Wed. 11/1/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.187 million adults 25-54
156. The Daily Show “Oct 30, 23- Charlamagne Tha God” (CMDY, Mon. 10/30/2023 11:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.130 million adults 25-54
220. Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO, Fri. 11/3/2023 10:01 PM, 57 min.) 0.107 million adults 25-54
224. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 11/5/2023 11:00 PM, 39 min.) 0.106 million adults 25-54
225. Forensic Files (HLN, late Tue. 10/31/2023 3:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.106 million adults 25-54
359. Closing Bell (CNBC, Wed. 11/1/2023 3:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.072 million adults 25-54
460. Rob Schmitt Tonight (NMX, Mon. 10/30/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.056 million adults 25-54
480. America’s Morning Headquarters (TWC, Tue. 10/31/2023 8:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.053 million adults 25-54
600. FBI Files (COURT TV, Sun. 11/5/2023 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.039 million adults 25-54
611. Cuomo (NWSN, Thu. 11/2/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.037 million adults 25-54
729. Kudlow (FBN, Wed. 11/1/2023 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.027 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
