ABC leads – For the first full week of May, all three major evening news broadcasts saw week-over-week declines. ABC World News Tonight with David Muir stayed on top in both total viewers and Adults 25-54, while NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas placed second and CBS Eveni
The first full week of May brought a blunt message to the evening news market: fewer people tuned in across the board, and the competition for the most coveted audience tightened further.
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir kept its lead in both total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demographic for the week beginning May 4. averaging 8.183 million total viewers and 976. 000 in the demo.. The numbers fell compared with the previous week, down 1 percent in total viewers and down 3 percent among 25-54 viewers.. Still. ABC’s performance improved compared to the same period in 2025. with a 13 percent rise in total viewers and a 1 percent increase in the demo.
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas remained in the No.. 2 spot, but also posted weekly declines.. The broadcast averaged 6.125 million total viewers and 903,000 demo viewers.. Compared to the week before, it was down 2 percent in total viewers and down 3 percent in the key demographic.. Even so. NBC’s week-over-week dip came alongside year-over-year gains: total viewers were up 9 percent and the 25-54 audience rose 14 percent compared to 2025.
CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil is the one that drew the most concern in this round of figures.. The program averaged 3.702 million total viewers and 473. 000 demo viewers—down 4 percent in total viewers week over week and down 13 percent in Adults 25-54.. CBS Evening News has also been making headlines in recent weeks after slipping below 4 million viewers. underscoring how fragile its position has been.
Dokoupil’s tenure began after he took over as anchor on January 5. when he was promoted from CBS Mornings by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.. His show airs weeknights at 6:30/5:30c. with NBC Nightly News also scheduled for the same timeslot and ABC World News Tonight following suit at 6:30/5:30c.
For the week beginning May 4, the story still circles back to a clear hierarchy: ABC leads, NBC holds second, and CBS faces the steepest weekly declines—especially in the audience that advertisers chase most.
evening news ratings ABC World News Tonight David Muir NBC Nightly News Tom Llamas CBS Evening News Tony Dokoupil Adults 25-54 Nielsen AdWeek