The news cycle during this period was not dramatic, which led to quarterly drops across the three networks. WNT continued its second-quarter win streak in total viewers, extending it to seven years. In the demo, ABC News’ program widened the separation between Nightly News, extending it to 87,000 demo viewers during the just-concluded quarter.
According to Nielsen Media Research, World News Tonight finished the second quarter with 8.2 million total viewers and 1.01 million viewers in the A25-54 demo. When put against the first quarter of 2026, WNT was down by -6% in total viewers and -8% in the demo. Compared with the year-ago quarter (Q2 2025)*, ABC News’ broadcast ratings grew by +13% in total viewers and +3% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News averaged 6.347 million total viewers and 923,000 A25-54 viewers during the just-concluded quarter. The newscast was down -9% in total viewers and -12% in the demo compared to the prior quarter. Checking its performance relative to the year-ago quarter, it was up +10% in total viewers and +12% in the A25-54 demo.
Finally, CBS Evening News finished below the 4 million mark, averaging 3.9 million total viewers and 535,000 A25-54 viewers in Q2 2026. It was down by -9% in total viewers and -1% in the demo vs. the prior quarter. Compared to the second quarter of 2025, it grew by +2% in total viewers and +3% among A25-54 viewers.
Please note that year-over-year comparisons are based on Nielsen Big Data+Panel (2025) vs. Panel (2025) measurements.
2nd Quarter 2026
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
| • Total Viewers: | 8,200,000 | 6,347,000 | 3,900,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,010,000 | 923,000 | 535,000 |
Source: Nielsen, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49 National Live + Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings. Current Week (w/o 6/22/26), Previous Week (w/o 6/15/26), and Year-Ago Week (w/o 6/23/25). Season to date: Most Current Data Stream: 2025-2026 Season (9/22/25 – 6/28/26) and 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24 – 6/29/25).
