Week of December 30 Evening News Ratings: CBS Evening News Eyes Win on Holidays
Only one evening television news program closed the year on a positive note: it was the CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell. CBS News’ flagship newscast reported weekly gains in total viewers and adults 25-54, while rivals ABC News and NBC News saw modest declines in the final week of 2024.
However, ABC World News with David Muir finished 2024 firmly in first place in both categories measured during the week of December 30, while NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt remained second among total viewers and demo.
The transition from one year to the next is generally a slow news period. But two important news events interrupted the transition from 2024 to 2025:the death of the former president Jimmy Carter and the New Year’s Eve terrorist attack in New Orleans.
These breaking news situations may be why the CBS Evening News was the only newscast to see an uptick in viewership during the holidays.
Note: Weekly averages for ABC World News Tonight are based on one day (Thursday), NBC Nightly News are based on three days (Monday, Thursday and Friday), and CBS News are based on two days (Monday and Thursday). ABC News’ broadcasts on Monday (12/30/24) and Friday (01/03/25) were renamed WNT-ABC, while those on Tuesday (12/31/24) and Wednesday (01/01/01) /25) ABC News and CBS News broadcasts were coded as specials. NBC Nightly News was coded as a special on Tuesday and preempted on Wednesday. These broadcasts are excluded from weekly and seasonal averages.
ABC World News Tonight averaged 6.969 million total viewers and 886,000 A25-54 viewers for weekly declines of -2% in total viewers and -10%, respectively. Looking at its relative performance in the same week in 2024 (the week of January 1st), WNT was down -17% in total viewers and -26% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News averaged 5.971 million total viewers and 842,000 demo viewers, for declines of -1% and -7%, respectively, from the previous week. Year over year, Nightly News saw a -17% decline in total viewers and a -52% decline in the demo.
CBS Evening News attracted 4.449 million total viewers and 638,000 demo viewers, representing gains of +5% and +8% from the previous week. Compared to last year’s weekly numbers, total viewers were down -12% and -9% in the demo.
ABC BNC CBS • Total number of viewers: 6,969,000 5,971,000 4,449,000 • A25-54: 886,000 842,000 638,000
Source: The Nielsen Company, total NTI viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 live + SD Current week (without 12/30/24), previous week (without 12/23 /24) and year- A week ago (without 1/1/24). Most recent data feed: 2024-2025 season (09/23/24 – 01/05/25) and 2023-2024 season (09/25/23 – 01/07/23). 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.