Week of December 9 Evening news ratings: Public interest steady as 2024 draws to a close
ABC World News with David Muir remained the No. 1 evening news program in the United States in total viewers and ratings among adults 25-54 for the week of December 9. All three evening newscasts showed little to no movement in total viewers from the previous week. However, WNT was the only broadcast with weekly gains in the demo.
One thing to watch in the coming weeks is whether ABC News can maintain its ratings dominance, particularly in the evening news, after it was revealed that the news channel settled the defamation lawsuit filed by president-elect Donald Trump. Even though the trial involved the This Week and Good Morning America anchor Georges Stephanopolousthe idea of “bowing the knee” to the new administration might not appeal to viewers.
Note: ABC World News Tonight and CBS News weekly averages are based on three days (Tuesday through Thursday) and four days (Tuesday through Friday). The ABC News broadcasts on Monday (12/9/24) and Friday (12/13/24) were renamed WNT-ABC, while the CBS News broadcast on Friday (12/13/24) was renamed CBS Evening News. These broadcasts are excluded from weekly and seasonal averages.
ABC World News Tonight averaged 7.854 million total viewers and 1.084 million, down -1% in the former category, but up +1% in the latter. compared to the previous week. Looking at its performance during the same week in 2023 (the week of December 11), WNT grew +2% in total viewers and +8% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt was the second most-watched newscast, averaging 6.326 million total viewers and 886,000 demo viewers. From one week to the next, this translates into a stable result in the first category and a drop of -5% in the second. Year over year, Nightly News saw a -5% decline in total viewers and -7% in the demo.
CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell brought together 4.674 million viewers in total and 683,000 A25-54 viewers for a stable result in the first category and a drop of -2% in the second. Compared to last year’s numbers, total viewers were down -1%, but the demo was up +6%.
ABC BNC CBS • Total number of viewers: 7,854,000 6,326,000 4,674,000 • A25-54: 1,084,000 886,000 683,000
Source: The Nielsen Company, Total Viewers NTI, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current week (excluding 9/12/24), previous week (excluding 2/12 /24) and year- A week ago (without 11/12/23). Most recent data feed: 2024-2025 season (09/23 – 12/15/24) and 2023-2024 season (09/25 – 11/17/23). Nielsen ratings for ABC, NBC and CBS include additional broadcasts in some markets. As of 08/31/20, national rankings also include out-of-home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular TV broadcasts.
[Editor’s Note: Due to the holiday, this will be the last evening news ratings report of 2024. Reports will resume the week of Jan. 5]
