WITH 9.7 MILLION VIEWERS ON THURSDAY, ‘WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH DAVID MUIR’ DELIVERS LARGEST VIEWERSHIP IN 2 YEARS AND IS #1 PROGRAM ON ALL OF TELEVISION WITH MUIR ANCHORING FROM LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY

With anchor and managing editor David Muir reporting from Los Angeles Wednesday through Friday to cover the wildfires, “World News Tonight with David Muir” delivered the largest viewership in 2 years across the board and outdelivered NBC by 2.3 million viewers on Thursday — the biggest margin in 3.5 years. “World News Tonight” ranked as the No. 1 program of the week in Total Viewers (8.866 million) on all of broadcast and cable (excluding sports) during the week of Jan. 6, 2025, based on Live+Same Day Data from Nielsen Media Research.

• “World News Tonight” stood as the evening’s No. 1 newscast in all of broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (8.866 million), Adults 25-54 (1.344 million) and Adults 18-49 (967,000), beating “NBC Nightly News” (7.379 million, 1.155 million and 794,000, respectively) by 1.487 million Total Viewers, by 189,000 Adults 25-54 and by 173,000 Adults 18-49.
• “World News Tonight” increased its lead over “NBC Nightly News” compared to the previous week in Total Viewers (+49% – 1.487 million vs. 998,000), Adults 25-54 (+330% – 189,000 vs. 44,000) and Adults 18-49 (+158% – 173,000 vs. 67,000).
• “World News Tonight” widened its margins over “NBC Nightly News” year to year in Total Viewers (+4% – 1.487 million vs. 1.431 million), Adults 25-54 (+361% – 189,000 vs. 41,000) and Adults 18-49 (+204% – 173,000 vs. 57,000).
• “World News Tonight” posted double-digit gains week to week in Total Viewers (+27%/+1.897 million – 8.866 million vs. 6.969 million), Adults 25-54 (+52%/+458,000 – 1.344 million vs. 886,000) and Adults 18-49 (+53%/+335,000 – 967,000 vs. 632,000), hitting 2-year highs across the board — since weeks of 1/23/23, 1/30/23 and 1/30/23, respectively.
• “World News Tonight” improved on the same week last year in all key target demos: Total Viewers (+2%/+158,000 – 8.866 million vs. 8.708 million), Adults 25-54 (+18%/+206,000 – 1.344 million vs. 1.138 million) and Adults 18-49 (+21%/+168,000 – 967,000 vs. 799,000).
• On Thursday (1/9/25), “World News Tonight” turned in its most-watched telecast (9.650 million) in nearly 2 years — since 1/30/23. In addition, on Wednesday (1/8/25), “World News Tonight” saw its strongest telecast in Adults 25-54 (1.493 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.093 million) in 22 months — since 3/13/23.
• On Thursday, “World News Tonight” posted its largest single-day lead over “NBC Nightly News” in Total Viewers (+2.268 million – 9.650 million vs. 7.362 million) in more than 3 ½ years — since 6/11/21, based on regular telecasts.
• For the week, “World News Tonight” (8.866 million, 1.344 million and 967,000, respectively) defeated “CBS Evening News” (5.247 million, 743,000 and 516,000, respectively) by 3.619 million Total Viewers, by 601,000 Adults 25-54 and by 451,000 Adults 18-49. “World News Tonight” delivered its largest Total Viewer advantage in nearly 3 years and biggest margin in both key Adult demos in 2 years — since weeks of 3/7/22 and 1/9/23, respectively.
• Season to date, “World News Tonight” (7.730 million) is ranking No. 1 in Total Viewers for the 9th consecutive year, based on Most Current Data. “World News Tonight” is leading “NBC Nightly News” (6.163 million) by 1.567 million and “CBS Evening News” (4.620 million) by 3.110 million. In fact, “World News Tonight” is growing its Total Viewer lead over NBC compared to the same point last season (+40% – 1.567 million vs. 1.120 million) to its largest in 30 years — since the 1994-1995 season.
• “World News Tonight” is ranking No. 1 in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 for the 6th straight season. “World News Tonight” (1.103 million and 761,000, respectively) is leading NBC (911,000 and 610,000, respectively), increasing its margins from the same point last season by triple digits in Adults 25-54 (+292% – 192,000 vs. 49,000) and Adults 18-49 (+236% – 151,000 vs. 45,000). In addition, “World News Tonight” is leading “CBS Evening News” (677,000 and 455,000, respectively) by 426,000 Adults 25-54 and by 306,000 Adults 18-49.

ABC’s “World News Tonight with David Muir” airs 6:30-7:00 p.m. EST on ABC. Chris Dinan is the executive producer of the broadcast.

EVENING NEWS (Week of Jan. 6, 2025):

Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 1/6/25), Previous Week (w/o 12/30/24) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 1/8/24). Most Current Data Stream: 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24 – 1/12/25) and 2023-2024 Season (9/25/23 – 1/14/23). 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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ABC News Media Relations
Brooks Lancaster
brooks.lancaster@abc.com

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