WITH DAVID MUIR REPORTING FROM THE VATICAN, ABC NEWS IS #1 NETWORK FOR LIVE COVERAGE OF WHITE SMOKE AND NAMING OF POPE — AND ‘WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH DAVID MUIR’ IS #1 NEWSCAST ACROSS BROADCAST AND CABLE, LEADING NBC BY 1.6 MILLION VIEWERS AND CBS BY 3.6 MILLION

Led by anchor and managing editor David Muir from the Vatican, “World News Tonight with David Muir” stood as America’s most-watched weekday program in Total Viewers (7.268 million) on all of broadcast and cable and ranked as the No. 1 newscast across the board in Total Viewers (7.268 million), Adults 25-54 (971,000) and Adults 18-49 (698,000) during the week of May 5, 2025, based on Live+Same Day Data from Nielsen Media Research.

• “World News Tonight” ranked as the No. 1 telecast of the day on Monday (7.461 million), Tuesday (7.655 million), Wednesday (7.074 million), Thursday (7.444) and Friday (6.706 million).
• On Thursday (5/8/25), ABC News’ special coverage for the papal conclave announcement of Pope Leo XIV(12:08-2:00 p.m. EDT), led by Muir, outperformed its closest competitor, Fox News (12:00-2:00 p.m. EDT), by +5% in Total Viewers (3.457 million vs. 3.295 million), by +5% in Adults 25-54 (615,000 vs. 583,000) and by +11% in Adults 18-49 (504,000 vs. 454,000) and CBS and NBC by double digits.
• “World News Tonight” outdelivered “NBC Nightly News” (5.639 million, 789,000 and 503,000, respectively) by 1.639 million Total Viewers, by 182,000 Adults 25-54 and by 195,000 Adults 18-49.
• “World News Tonight” widened its lead week to week over “NBC Nightly News” by double digits in Total Viewers (+44% – 1.629 million vs. 1.133 million), Adults 25-54 (+77% – 182,000 vs. 103,000) and Adults 18-49 (+73% – 195,000 vs. 113,000).
• “World News Tonight” also increased its margins over “NBC Nightly News” versus the same week last year by double digits in Total Viewers (+22% – 1.629 million vs. 1.336 million), Adults 25-54 (+20% – 182,000 vs. 152,000) and Adults 18-49 (+49% – 195,000 vs. 131,000).
• “World News Tonight” was up over the previous week in Total Viewers (+4%/+255,000 – 7.268 million vs. 7.013 million) and Adults 18-49 (+3%/+19,000 – 698,000 vs. 679,000).
• “World News Tonight” improved on the same week last year in Total Viewers (+29,000 – 7.268 million vs. 7.239 million) and Adults 18-49 (+7%/+44,000 – 698,000 vs. 654,000).
• “World News Tonight” (7.268 million, 971,000 and 698,000, respectively) defeated “CBS Evening News” (3.637 million, 502,000 and 347,000, respectively) by 3.631 million Total Viewers, by 469,000 Adults 25-54 and by 351,000 Adults 18-49.
• “World News Tonight” saw its gap over “CBS Evening News” grow week to week in Total Viewers (+8% – 3.631 million vs. 3.376 million) and Adults 18-49 (+10% – 351,000 vs. 319,000).
• For the 9th week running, “World News Tonight” increased its advantage over “CBS Evening News” from the year-ago week in Total Viewers (+24% – 3.631 million vs. 2.925 million), Adults 25-54 (+31% – 469,000 vs. 358,000) and Adults 18-49 (+48% – 351,000 vs. 237,000).
• Season to date, “World News Tonight” (7.809 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” (6.253 million) by 1.556 million and “CBS Evening News” (4.397 million) by 3.412 million. In fact, “World News Tonight” is growing its Total Viewer lead over NBC compared to the same point last season (+23% – 1.556 million vs. 1.264 million) to its largest in 30 years — since the 1994-1995 season. In addition, “World News Tonight” is increasing its Total Viewer season margin versus “CBS Evening News” by 10% (3.412 million vs. 3.109 million) to its largest in 4 years — since the 2020-2021 season.
• “World News Tonight” is ranking No. 1 in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 for the 6th straight season. Season to date, “World News Tonight” (1.105 million and 766,000, respectively) is leading NBC (918,000 and 609,000, respectively), substantially increasing its margins from the same point last season in Adults 25-54 (+57% – 187,000 vs. 119,000) and Adults 18-49 (+65% – 157,000 vs. 95,000).
• In addition, “World News Tonight” is widening margins with “CBS Evening News” (633,000 and 426,000, respectively) by double digits in Adults 25-54 (+14% – 472,000 vs. 414,000) and Adults 18-49 (+19% – 340,000 vs. 286,000).

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

EVENING NEWS (Week of May 5, 2025)

Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 5/5/25), Previous Week (w/o 4/28/25) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 5/6/24). Most Current Data Stream: 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24 – 5/11/25) and 2023-2024 Season (9/25/23 – 5/12/24). 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
Van Scott
van.scott@abc.com

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