David Muir might be breathing a sigh of relief. His ABC World News Tonight broadcast is back on top in the Adults 25–54 demo after an upset by NBC Nightly News, anchored by Tom Llamas.
For the week of August 10, ABC World News Tonight With David Muir led in both total viewers and A25–54 views, according to Nielsen national live-plus-same day ratings TVNewser reported yesterday. The ABC broadcast averaged 8.436 million total viewers, up 1 percent over the prior week and 20 percent year over year, and 1.162 million A25–54 views, up 12 percent over the prior week and 25 percent year over year.
NBC Nighty News with Tom Llamas came in second place in both viewership groups that week. It averaged 6.611 million total viewers, down 1 percent from the previous week, and 999,000 A25–54 viewers, down 6 percent. The NBC production, which edged out ABC World News Tonightin demo viewers the prior week, is the only broadcast TV news program to have lost viewers week-over-week in both categories, TVNewser notes, but it’s up 16 percent in total viewers and 29 percent in demo viewers over the same time last year.
Tom Llamas (Art Streiber/NBCUniversal)
And yet again, CBS Evening News With Tony Dokoupil lagged far behind its competitors, coming in a distant third with 3.785 million total viewers — down 3 percent over the week prior but up 1 percent over the same time last year — and 521,000 A25-54 views — up 1 percent over the week prior and level with the demo viewership the same time last year.
TVNewser does comment that the NBC Nightly News weekly average is based on four days of shows (from Monday to Thursday the week of August 10), while weekly averages of ABC World News Tonight and CBS Evening News are based on three days (Monday to Wednesday of that week).