Nightline Ratings: 2005 v. 2004

Perhaps younger viewers don’t want younger anchors?:

Media Life says Nightline is experiencing a “hefty decline in ratings.”

“For the week ended Jan. 15, Nightline averaged 3.6 million viewers, its highest viewership since the triumvirate of Cynthia McFadden, Martin Bashir and Terry Moran took over as hosts in late November. But that’s down 8 percent from the comparable week last year, when Koppel averaged 3.9 million viewers.

The show’s decline is sharper among 18-49s. Nightline drew a 1.1 rating for the week ended Jan. 15, off 15 percent from last year’s 1.3.”

The ratings leave this question unanswered: “Will ABC continue to stand behind the late-night news show, and for how long?”

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.