Press release - Ratings
September 21, 2021
‘Nightline’ Outdelivers CBS’ ‘The Late Late Show With James Corden’ in Adults 25–54 and Adults 18–49 for 6th Year in a Row, 15 Straight Quarters Since 2018 and Every 3rd Quarter Since 2015
Ratings Report: ABC News’ “Nightline”
For 2020-21 Season, 3rd Quarter 2021 and Week of Sept. 13, 2021
Nightline’ Outdelivers CBS’ ‘The Late Late Show With James Corden’ in Adults 25–54 and Adults 18–49 for 6th Year in a Row, 15 Straight Quarters Since 2018 and Every 3rd Quarter Since 2015
‘Nightline’ Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers for Week of Sept. 13, Growing Week to Week and Drawing Its Largest Overall Audience in 9 Weeks
As states approach mask mandates for students differently, Nightline sat in on a school board meeting, where parents are showing up to voice their opinions, and school staff is finding themselves in the crossfire of a heated debate — story aired on Sept. 16.
ABC News/Nightline*
2020-2021 Season:
For the 2020-21 season, “Nightline” (275,000 and 193,000, respectively) beat CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (239,000 and 167,000, respectively) in Adults 25-54 (+36,000) and Adults 18-49 (+26,000) for the 6th straight year — since the 2015-2016 season.
3rd Quarter 2021:
ABC News’ “Nightline” averaged 780,000 Total Viewers, 220,000 Adults 25-54 and 160,000 Adults 18-49 during the 3rd quarter 2021, based on Most Current Data from Nielsen Media Research. “Nightline“ outperformed CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (219,000 and 142,000, respectively) in Adults 25-54 (+1,000) and Adults 18-49 (+18,000), leading the CBS program in all seven 3rd quarters that the two programs have aired in their respective time periods — since 3Q15.
In addition, “Nightline” beat CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden” in both key Adult demos for the past 15 quarters – since 1Q18.
Week of Sept. 13, 2021:
ABC News’ “Nightline” ranked No. 1 in Total Viewers (772,000) for the week of Sept. 13, 2021, based on Live + Same Day Data from Nielsen Media Research. “Nightline” defeated CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (747,000) by 25,000 and NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (711,000) by 61,000.
In addition, “Nightline” beat CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden” in Adults 25-54 (+10,000 – 185,000 vs. 175,000) and Adults 18-49 (+14,000 – 127,000 vs. 113,000).
For the 2nd week in a row, “Nightline” grew from the previous week in Total Viewers (+5% – 772,000 vs. 733,000), drawing its largest overall audience in 9 weeks — since w/o 7/12/21.
Last week, “Nightline” featured stories on the debates at school board meetings over mask mandates for students, the U.S. Olympic women gymnasts who testified before the Senate as it investigates the FBI’s handling of the Larry Nassar case, the housing boom during the pandemic, dogs that are trained by a group of female inmates at the Central California Women’s Facility, the California recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom, the return of Broadway and the opening night of The Lion King, and contributed to ABC News’ America Strong reporting series with a piece on traveling nurses who help overwhelmed hospitals in hot spot communities.
NOTE: CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden” was retitled to “Late Late Show-JC-ENC” and NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” was retitled to “Seth Meyers-SM” on Friday (9/17/21) due to being repeats. The retitled telecasts are not included in the season averages. CBS’ and NBC’s averages are based on four days (Monday-Thursday).
ABC News’ “Nightline” is late-night television‘s prestigious, award-winning news program featuring the most powerful, in-depth stories that shape our lives and the world around us. It is anchored by Juju Chang and Byron Pitts. The program airs weeknights from 12:35-1:05 a.m. EDT on ABC. “Nightline” has also produced numerous original documentaries available on ABC News digital platforms and Hulu.
2020-2021 Season:
PROGRAM AVERAGES TOTAL VIEWERS A25-54(000)/Rtg A18-49(000)/Rtg
ABC’s “Nightline” 908,000 275,000/0.2 193,000/0.1
CBS’ “The Late Late Show” 950,000 239,000/0.2 167,000/0.1
NBC’s “Late Night” 974,000 295,000/0.2 205,000/0.2
3rd Quarter 2021:
PROGRAM AVERAGES TOTAL VIEWERS A25-54(000)/Rtg A18-49(000)/Rtg
ABC’s “Nightline” 780,000 220,000/0.2 160,000/0.1
CBS’ “The Late Late Show” 901,000 219,000/0.2 142,000/0.1
NBC’s “Late Night” 876,000 252,000/0.2 180,000/0.1
Week of Sept. 13, 2021:
PROGRAM AVERAGES TOTAL VIEWERS A25-54(000)/Rtg A18-49(000)/Rtg
ABC’s “Nightline” 772,000 185,000/0.2 127,000/0.1
CBS’ “The Late Late Show” 747,000 175,000/0.1 113,000/0.1
NBC’s “Late Night” 711,000 202,000/0.2 137,000/0.1
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 9/13/21), Previous Week (w/o 9/6/21) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 9/14/20). Most Current: 2020 -2021 Season (9/21/20-9/12/21) and 2019-2020 Season (9/23/13-9/13/20). Most Current – 3Q21: 6/28 – 9/19/21. 2Q21: 3/29 – 6/27/21. 3Q20: 6/29 – 9/20/20. Nielsen ratings for ABC, NBC and CBS include additional airings in select markets. Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.
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