The first week of President Donald Trump’s second term did not yield any significant news bumps for the evening news broadcasts despite being filled with administration news. NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt was the only broadcast to record week-to-week gains in total viewers and the prized Adults 25-54 demo for the week of Jan. 20.

Meanwhile, the final week of Norah O’Donnell’s time as anchor of the CBS Evening News did not result in viewership bumps. As for ABC World News with David Muir, it remained the most-watched evening news program on all of broadcast and cable despite not experiencing week-to-week growth. 

Note: The weekly averages of ABC World News Tonight and CBS Evening News are based on three days (Tuesday – Thursday), while NBC Nightly News averages are based on four days (Thursday – Friday). Monday’s (1/20/2025) broadcasts were pre-empted due to the inauguration. ABC’s Friday broadcast was retitled to WNT-ABC, while Friday’s CBS Evening News was preempted. These broadcasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages.

WNT averaged 8.1 million total viewers and 1.136 million A25-54 viewers for a flat result in the former category and a decline of -7% in the latter compared to the previous week. Looking at its performance alongside the same week in 2024 (the week beginning Jan. 22), WNT was down -5% in total viewers and -4% in the demo.

NBC Nightly News finished in the No. 2 spot in both measured categories, averaging 6.994 million total viewers and 1.051 million demo viewers. That translates to week-to-week gains of +3% and +7% in those respective measured categories. Year-to-year, Nightly News was down by -5% in total viewers and the demo. 

CBS Evening News saw 4.892 million total viewers and 714,000 demo viewers for O’Donnell’s final week in the anchor’s chair. That translates to respective dips -3% and -1% compared to the previous week. Compared to its year-ago numbers, the newscast was down by -7% in total viewers and -11% in the demo. 

Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 1/20/25), Previous Week (w/o 1/13/25) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 1/22/24). Most Current Data Stream: 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24 – 1/26/25) and 2023-2024 Season (9/25/23 – 1/28/23). 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.