NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt Is #1 For The Week & Season
By: Tori Hartshorn Jan. 08, 2019
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt is the #1 most-watched evening broadcast in the key news demo for the week of December 31, according to Nielsen Media Research data. Nightly News continues as the #1 most-watched evening newscast season-to-date in the demo most valued by news advertisers, delivering its largest demo lead over CBS in five seasons.
The broadcast continues its strong performance in the key news demo averaging 2.0 million A25-54 viewers, besting ABC WORLD NEWS Tonight by +9,000 viewers (+0.5%) and CBS EVENING NEWS by +751,000 viewers (+60%). Nightly News has won the key demo 25 of the last 27 weeks and the broadcast grew the most week-over-week compared to the competition.
This week, NBC NIGHTLY NEWS launched "Justice for All," a new criminal justice series focusing on unjust sentencing and unreliable convictions, highlighting the stories of the wrongfully accused and the new ways of seeking justice. As part of the series, Holt will speak exclusively tonight with Matthew Charles, one of the first prisoners released under the new federal criminal justice reform law. Last Wednesday, Charles spoke exclusively with NBC News as he left prison, saying he's thankful the government has "agreed that enough is enough." Holt interviewed Charles by phone in June while he was still in prison.
The series officially launched last night with an exclusive interview with Cyntoia Brown's lawyers. Brown was granted clemency yesterday by the Tennessee governor for a murder she committed when she was 16, and has received national recognition from celebrities and criminal justice reform advocates.
For the week of December 31, Nightly News averaged 1.4 million A18-49 viewers topping ABC by +36,000 (+3%) and CBS by +490,000 viewers (+55%). Nightly News has won A18-49 for 18 of the past 20 weeks and among the three networks, Nightly News grew the most in A18-49 viewers week-over-week.
Nightly News averaged 8.9 million total viewers for the week of December 31 leading CBSEvening News by 2.6 million total viewers (+41%). Week-over-week, Nightly News grew the most in total viewers.
For the week of December 31, Nightly News rated for three nights (Jan. 2, Jan. 3, and Jan. 4) due to the New Year's holiday.
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Weekly Highlights:
- Nightly News averaged 2.0 million A25-54 viewers, outperforming ABC by +9,000 (+0.5%) and CBS by +751,000 (+60%).
- Nightly News is now #1 in the key demo for 25 of the past 27 weeks.
- Nightly News averaged 1.4 million A18-49 viewers, topping ABC by +36,000 viewers (+3%) and CBS by +490,000 (+55%).
- Nightly News has won A18-49 for 18 of the past 20 weeks.
- Nightly News averaged 8.9 million total viewers, beating CBS by +2.6 million (+41%).
- Nightly News grew the most across the board week-over-week.
Season Highlights:
- Nightly News is the #1 evening newscast this season in A25-54 and A18-49.
- Nightly News holds its largest A25-54 demo advantage over CBS in five seasons.
Week of December 31 - January 4, 2018:
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| NBC | 8.862 | 1.66 | 2.005 | 1.08 | 1.387 |
| CBS | 6.291 | 1.04 | 1.254 | 0.70 | 0.897 |
| ABC | 9.372 | 1.65 | 1.996 | 1.05 | 1.351 |
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt is the most-watched evening newscast in America among the key news demo for the past 21 seasons. The broadcast provides the very latest on the day's top stories, going BEYOND THE HEADLINES to add context and analysis to the most pressing issues of our time. NBC NIGHTLY NEWS reaches more than 24 million people every week through its broadcast and millions more through NBCNews.com, the Nightly News app, and social media platforms. Lester Holt is the anchor, and Jenn Suozzo is the executive producer.
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