For the week of May 11, CBS Evening News was the only major evening newscast to grow week over week in both total viewers and the Adults 25–54 audience, even as it continued to lag behind ABC World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News.
On a ratings week when the broader evening-news trend looked shaky, Tony Dokoupil had one clear reason to feel good: CBS Evening News was the only major show moving up when the numbers were compared week to week.
For the week of May 11, CBS Evening News averaged 3.806 million total viewers and 503,000 viewers in the Adults 25–54 demographic. Compared with the week prior, that meant a 3 percent increase in total viewers and a 6 percent increase in the demo.
The climb matters more because CBS Evening News had hit worrying record lows in recent months. Even with this improvement, CBS still couldn’t quite close the gap with ABC and NBC. It also remained less dramatic than the headline suggests: compared to the same period in 2025. CBS Evening News was up 1 percent in total viewers and remained flat in the Adults 25–54 demographic.
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir continued to hold the top spot. For the week of May 11, it averaged 7.889 million total viewers and 962,000 demo viewers. But it slipped versus the previous week—down 4 percent in total viewers and down 1 percent in the key demographic.
Still, ABC’s overall picture wasn’t purely down. Compared to the same period in 2025, World News Tonight was up 13 percent in total viewers and up 8 percent in the demo.
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas finished second. It averaged 5.97 million total viewers and 831,000 demo viewers for the week of May 11. The week-over-week comparison was weaker for NBC: down 3 percent in total viewers and down 8 percent in the Adults 25–54 demographic.
As with ABC, NBC’s year-over-year trend was sturdier. Compared to the same period in 2025, Nightly News increased by 9 percent in total viewers and by 7 percent in the key demographic.
The pattern that emerges from these numbers is blunt: CBS is gaining ground week over week in both the broader audience and the Adults 25–54 slice. but the lead remains where it has been—ABC on top. NBC close behind. For CBS. the question now isn’t whether it can move upward; it’s whether these week-to-week gains can last long enough to start changing who viewers tune into nightly.
CBS Evening News is scheduled weeknights at 6:30/5:30c on CBS. NBC Nightly News is weeknights at 6:30/5:30c on NBC. ABC World News Tonight is weeknights at 6:30/5:30c on ABC.
CBS Evening News ABC World News Tonight NBC Nightly News Tony Dokoupil David Muir Tom Llamas ratings May 11 Adults 25-54 Nielsen AdWeek live+same-day