ABC's World News Tonight Remains Top Evening Newscast

NBC Nightly News sees viewership increase, CBS Evening News lags behind

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

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The latest evening news ratings show that ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir remained the most-watched evening newscast overall for the week of February 9. NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas saw the only increase in both total viewers and the key Adults 25-54 demographic, while CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil trailed its competition with declining viewership numbers.

Why it matters

The evening news ratings are an important indicator of network news viewership and audience engagement. The performance of these flagship news programs can impact advertising revenue, network prestige, and the overall competitiveness of the broadcast news landscape.

The details

According to Nielsen data, World News Tonight averaged 8.657 million total viewers for the week, down slightly from the previous week. NBC Nightly News, however, saw its total viewership increase to 7.797 million, up from 7.233 million the prior week. Nightly News also topped the key Adults 25-54 demographic with 1.240 million viewers, an increase from 1.1 million the week before. CBS Evening News trailed its competitors, averaging 4.163 million total viewers and 458,000 in the key demo, both declines from the previous week.

The ratings are for the week of February 9, 2026.

The players