David Muir Tops Nightly News Ratings for Ninth Consecutive Year While Tom Llamas Boosts NBC Viewership

ABC’s David Muir has secured the nightly news ratings crown for the ninth consecutive year. His program, World News Tonight, outperformed competitors in total viewers as well as key age demographics, Nielsen data reveals.

World News Tonight attracted 7.84 million total viewers, including 1.01 million in the 25-54 demographic and 718,000 among 18-49-year-olds. These figures highlight ABC’s sustained dominance in the evening news arena over NBC and CBS.

NBC’s Nightly News, under new anchor Tom Llamas since June, showed promising growth. The show increased its total audience by 477,000 viewers in the fourth quarter, reaching 6.20 million, according to Nielsen.

Llamas also led the program to gains in the vital 25-54 age group, adding 89,000 viewers from the third to the fourth quarter. This momentum signals a positive trajectory for NBC as it competes more aggressively in the time slot.

CBS Evening News continued to trail its rivals with 4.05 million viewers overall. The show tallied 508,000 viewers in the 25-54 demographic and 355,000 in the 18-49 bracket. CBS plans a leadership change, naming Tony Dokoupil as anchor starting January.

In morning news, ABC’s Good Morning America maintained its top position for the fourteenth year. The program averaged 2.77 million viewers, staying ahead of NBC’s Today (2.75 million) and CBS Mornings (1.96 million).

Despite trailing in total viewers, NBC’s Today led the 25-54 age group with 586,000 viewers. This indicates NBC’s strength among younger, advertiser-coveted audiences during morning broadcasts.

ABC celebrated its largest margin of victory over NBC Nightly News in total viewers in three decades. This milestone underscores the network’s enduring appeal and success in evening news delivery.

The changes at CBS reflect a strategic effort to close the gap, with new leadership under Bari Weiss supporting fresh on-air talent. Monitoring how Tony Dokoupil impacts CBS Evening News ratings will be key in the coming months.

These Nielsen results affirm David Muir’s strong and consistent leadership in nightly news ratings. At the same time, Tom Llamas’ gains demonstrate that NBC is revitalizing its standing with valuable viewer segments.