Week of November 25: Evening News Ratings: Thanksgiving Takes Priority During Slow News Week
The Thanksgiving holiday weekend naturally led to a decline in viewership for all three evening newscasts during the week of November 25.
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt was the only one to stand out during this holiday season. NBC’s flagship newscast avoided a sharp audience erosion, both in total viewers and in the demo coveted by advertisers for Adults 25-54.
Note: ABC World News Tonight’s weekly averages are based on one day (Tuesday), while CBS News and NBC News averages are based on two days (Monday and Tuesday). Monday’s (11/25/24) ABC News broadcast was renamed WNT-ABC, while Wednesday’s (11/27/24) and Thursday’s (11/28/24) broadcasts for all three outlets were coded as special. The Friday (11/29/24) ABC News and CBS News broadcasts were preempted, while the NBC News broadcast was renamed NBC. These broadcasts are excluded from weekly and seasonal averages.
ABC World News with David Muir averaged 7.677 million total viewers and 1.012 million A25-54 viewers for the week. This translates into respective decreases of -1% and -9% compared to the previous week. Looking at its performance during the same week in 2023 (the week starting November 27), WNT was down -9% in total viewers and -14% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News remained No. 2 averaging 6.223 million total viewers and 934,000 demo viewers. This translates into a drop of -2% in the first category and a stable result in the second. Year over year, Nightly News saw a 12% decline in both viewers and demo.
Finally, CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell finished in third place with 4.377 million total viewers and 558,000 A25-54 viewers for respective drops of -6% and -16% compared to the previous week. Compared to last year’s numbers, the newscast was down -13% in total viewers and -22% in the demo.
ABC BNC CBS • Total number of viewers: 7,677,000 6,223,000 4,377,000 • A25-54: 1,012,000 934,000 558,000
