Evening News Ratings

“NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” maintained the top spot for the week of May 14, but “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer” continues to keep the evening newscast ratings battle competitive.

“World News” had its smallest Total Viewer margin with “Nightly” in nine months (August 15, 2011) and won the A25-54 demographic on Friday, topping “Nightly” by 7,000 viewers.

“Nightly” and “World News,” along with “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley,” are all down compared to last week and to the same week last year.

Numbers for the week of May 14, 2012:

	NBC	ABC	CBS
• Total Viewers:	7,518,000	7,142,000	5,492,000
• A25-54:	2,042,000	1,826,000	1,554,000

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“NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” was the top evening news program in both total viewers and the younger demo last week, but only “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley” is showing year-over-year Total Viewer growth: +4%, while ABC’s “World News with Diane Sawyer” was the only show to grow in younger viewers: +2%. “World News” also cut the year-to-year gaps with “Nightly News” in both Total Viewers (-50%) and A25-54 viewers (-68%).

Numbers for the week of May 7, 2012:

	NBC	ABC	CBS
• Total Viewers:	7,952,000	7,371,000	5,728,000
• A25-54:	2,124,000	1,945,000	1,659,000

Once again “NBC Nightly News” was the top evening news program in both total viewers and adults 25-54 for the week of April 30-May 4. “ABC World News” remained in second place in both categories, with the “CBS Evening News” placing third.

The same week last year saw the aftermath of the death of Osama bin Laden, which led to substantially higher ratings than normal. As a result both ABC and NBC were down in both total and demo viewers. CBS was down in the demo, but managed to grow slightly in total viewers.

Numbers for the week of April 30, 2012:

	NBC	ABC	CBS
• Total Viewers:	7,794,000	7,033,000	5,861,000
• A25-54:	2,142,000	1,845,000	1,678,000

“NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” was on top again for the week of April 23, drawing 885,000 more viewers than second-place “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer.” ABC’s broadcast, in turn, outdrew “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley” by 1.5 million viewers.

ABC’s was the only newscast to grow week-to-week. CBS was the only one to improve on its Total Viewer audience compared to the same week last year, which saw large audiences due to both the Royal Wedding and heavy damage from storms across the South. All three programs were down in younger viewers year-over-year.

Numbers for the week of April 23, 2012:

	NBC	ABC	CBS
• Total Viewers:	8,190,000	7,305,000	5,771,000
• A25-54:	2,205,000	1,950,000	1,630,000

“NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” maintained a wide lead in the evenings, last week drawing 1.2 million more viewers than #2 “World News with Diane Sawyer” which was watched by 1.3 million more viewers than “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley.” But Pelley’s broadcast was once again the only one to grow year-over-year. Compared to the same week last year “Evening News” is up +1.5%, while “Nightly” is down -1% and “World News” is down -7%. All shows were down in younger viewers year-over-year. The drop comes as the week of April 18, 2011 saw a boost in viewership from the same week in 2010.

Numbers for the week of April 16, 2012:

	NBC	ABC	CBS
• Total Viewers:	8,351,000	7,118,000	5,771,000
• A25-54:	2,197,000	1,881,000	1,670,000

All three evening newscasts saw week-to-week gains, but, once again, only the “CBS Evening News” increased its viewership compared to the same week last year. While the Scott Pelley newscast is up +8% in Total Viewers and +10% in younger viewers, “Nightly News” was down -7% / -8% and “World News” was down -6% / -5%.

The gaps between the shows remain much the same with Brian Williams holding a 960,000 lead on Diane Sawyer, and Sawyer drawing 1.2 million more than Pelley.

Numbers for the week of April 9, 2012:

	NBC	ABC	CBS
• Total Viewers:	8,160,000	7,203,000	5,943,000
• A25-54:	2,203,000	1,918,000	1,817,000

The rankings for the three network evening newscasts remain the same, but only “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley” is seeing year-over-year growth. Compared to the same week last year, CBS is up +8% in Total Viewers and +4% in younger viewers. “Nightly News with Brian Williams” is -6% and -20%; “World News with Diane Sawyer” is -13% and -18%.

As you can see below, NBC still has a 1.1 million viewer lead over ABC which has a one million viewer lead on CBS.

“World News” is based on five days, “Nightly News” is based on four days (Friday removed from the average), and “Evening News is based on four days (Monday removed).

Numbers for the week of April 2, 2012:

	NBC	ABC	CBS
• Total Viewers:	7,933,000	6,839,000	5,843,000
• A25-54:	2,040,000	1,754,000	1,740,000

As usual, “NBC Nightly News” was the top network evening newscast for the week of March 26, though ABC’s “World News” continues to nip at its heels in total and demo viewers, narrowing the viewership gap with NBC year-to-year.

Compared to the same week last year, only the “CBS Evening News” was up in total viewers, and was down only slightly in the demo. ABC and NBC were down significantly in both total and demo viewers.

Last year saw the aftermath of the tsunami in Japan, and the beginning of TV news covering the Libyan uprising.

Numbers for the week of March 26, 2012:

	NBC	ABC	CBS
• Total Viewers:	7,995,000	7,121,000	5,803,000
• A25-54:	2,205,000	1,913,000	1,680,000

“NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” wins the week and the first quarter of 2012 and holds a 1.1 million Total Viewer season-to-date lead on #2 “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer.” For the quarter, “World News” decreased its year-to-year A25-54 demo gap with “NBC Nightly News” by -15%. It’s the closest the two shows have been in younger viewers in 4 years – since Q1 2008.

The “CBS Evening News” which saw its lowest Q1 on record in 2011, was the only broadcast to improve its numbers year-over-year, +3% in Total Viewers. Q1 2011 saw extensive coverage of the Arab spring and Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Note: “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley” is excluded from the averages on Thursday and Friday due to NCAA basketball games. “World News” and “Nightly News” averages were based on 5 days.

The switch to Daylight Saving Time caused a drop in evening news viewership last week. The 6:30-7p Households using television (HUT) level was down -7% week-to-week, while People Using Television (PUT) levels among Total Viewers and A25-54 viewers were both down -8%.

“NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” won the week, besting second-place “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer” by 798,000 Total Viewers and 213,000 A25-54 viewers. “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley” was third in both ratings measurements.

Compared to the same week last year, which saw heavy coverage of the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami, all three newscasts are down in Total Viewers and A25-54 viewers.

Note: “CBS Evening News” was re-named, and excluded from the averages, on Thursday and Friday due to NCAA basketball games. “World News” and “Nightly News” averages were based on 5 days.

Numbers for the week of March 12, 2012:

	NBC	ABC	CBS
• Total Viewers:	8,099,000	7,301,000	5,882,000
• A25-54:	2,097,000	1,884,000	1,688,000