evening news – Nielsen data for the week beginning May 4, 2026, shows week-over-week declines for ABC, NBC, and CBS in both total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demographic, with CBS hitting the steepest drop and remaining below the 4 million benchmark for a fourth straight we
For the week beginning May 4, 2026, the numbers moved in the same direction across the major broadcast networks: down.
All three major American evening news programs posted week-over-week declines in total viewership and in the key Adults 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen data reported by AdWeek and TV Insider.
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir held the market lead even as it slipped. The program averaged 8.183 million total viewers, a 1 percent drop from the prior week. It also topped Adults 25-54, averaging 976,000 viewers, down 3 percent.
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas took second place with 6.125 million total viewers, down 2 percent for the week. In the Adults 25-54 group, it averaged 903,000 viewers, down 3 percent. Despite the weekly declines. NBC showed a different kind of lift: its demographic total was up 14 percent compared with the same period in 2025.
CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil faced the steepest downturn. It fell 4 percent in total viewers to 3.702 million, and dropped 13 percent in Adults 25-54 to 473,000. The Daily Beast reported the result as the fourth consecutive week the program has remained below the 4 million viewer benchmark.
The struggle for CBS comes amid a recent leadership change. Dokoupil was promoted to the anchor chair on January 5, 2026, by editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. An industry source told the New York Post that the network’s competitive position against established anchors has raised concerns.
“You can’t do David Muir lite,” said a source, as quoted by the New York Post.
The same source pointed to staffing depth as another pressure point, saying CBS lacks the broad roster of recognized specialists found at rival organizations during major news events.
“When s–-t hits the fan, CBS doesn’t have heavyweights like [ABC’s] Martha Raddatz, Pierre Thomas or Jonathan Karl,” the source said, as quoted by the New York Post.
Tension inside CBS was also reported after Dokoupil shared a video in January about legacy media coverage. One former executive said they were confused by what they described as the anchor’s public stance on the industry.
“I just don’t even understand how you could say something like that,” a former CBS executive said, as quoted by Vanity Fair.
That executive suggested the comments alienated staff members, adding, “He completely lost the room,” also as quoted by Vanity Fair.
Dokoupil’s public statements during his transition to the evening slot included a candid acknowledgment of problems during his debut broadcast. “first day, big problems here,” Dokoupil said, as reported in the material.
Nielsen’s reporting for the week of May 4 used a four-day average, and technical retitling excluded specific Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday broadcasts from the final tally.
Even with that caveat, the direction of the week’s ratings is hard to miss: ABC stays on top with Muir, NBC remains strong enough to place second, and CBS continues to sink deeper—week after week—into a benchmark it hasn’t cleared for a month.
evening news ratings Nielsen ABC World News Tonight David Muir NBC Nightly News Tom Llamas CBS Evening News Tony Dokoupil Adults 25-54 TV viewership