ABC, NBC & CBS Evening News Ratings Revealed: Who’s on Top?

The first quarter ratings are in for the evening news programs across ABC, NBC, and CBS, and ABC’s World News Tonight is the big winner, posting gains in both total viewers and the key demographic.

According to Nielsen ratings, World News Tonight, hosted by David Muir, averaged 8.13 million total viewers in the first quarter of 2025. This is up slightly from the 8.12 million in the same period last year. The show also averaged 1.16 million viewers in the coveted 25-54 demo, up 3% on the same quarter the previous year.

Meanwhile, both CBS and NBC saw drops in total viewers and the key demo compared to the first quarter of 2024. NBC Nightly News, hosted by Lester Holt, averaged 6.6 million total viewers, down 3% on last year’s quarter average and 983,000 in the key demo, down by 1%.

CBS Evening News averaged 4.59 million total viewers, dropping 8% on its 2024 average, and 657,000 in the key demo, down 9%. This comes after the show’s long-time anchor, Norah O’Donnell, exited the network on January 23. Evening News debuted a new format on January 27, with John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois helming the show.

While CBS and NBC were down on the same quarter last year, both networks posted gains on the last quarter of 2024. NBC Nightly News was up 9% in total viewers and 10% in the key demo compared to the prior quarter. CBS Evening News was up 1% in total viewers versus the last quarter, though dipped -2% in the key demo.

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In February, NBC Nightly News host Holt announced he would be stepping away from the show this summer. Holt will remain with NBC News, taking on a full-time role at Dateline NBC.

It was later revealed that Top Story host Tom Llamas will succeed Holt as the Nightly News anchor and managing editor beginning this summer.

“Anchoring NBC Nightly News is a profound honor and one that carries tremendous responsibility. I look forward to working with the world-class journalists at Nightly News and Top Story to bring viewers the most important stories every night,” Llamas said in a statement.