TVNews Ratings: It's Lester Overall, But Muir Wins Money Demo

Lester Holt

More people watched Lester Holt anchor NBC’s “Nightly News” last week than any other evening-news host, but, according to Variety, that may not be enough to satisfy the advertisers who sponsor his efforts.

ABC’s “World News,” anchored by David Muir, trumped NBC’s “Nightly News” among the viewers advertisers covet most, people between the ages of 25 and 54. NBC’s program remains the most-watched evening newscast in TV, even without anchor Brian Williams,  but advertisers don’t judge the program by that standard.

David Muir

Muir’s victory could serve as a signal that NBC’s newscast  faces challenges in the absence of Williams, who has been suspended for six months following a disclosure he falsified an account of a 2003 reporting excursion in Iraq.  Holt is anchoring the newscast, and Williams’ name has been removed from the title of the program.

ABC’s “World News” snared about 2.571 million viewers between the ages of 25 and 54 for the five days between February 16 and February 20, according to Nielsen figures. In comparison, “Nightly News” won about 2.55 million viewers, while CBS’ “Evening News” lured almost 2.03 million.

Scott Pelley

“Nightly News” attracted 10.1 million viewers overall during the time period, compared with nearly 9.7 million for ABC’s “World News” and nearly 8.5 million for CBS’ “Evening News,” according to Nielsen figures.

Meanwhile, CBS is tourting Scott Pelley posted double-digit year-to-year percentage gains in adults 25-54 (+13%, 1.7/06 from 1.5/06) – the demographic most important to those who advertise in News – as well as viewers (+20%, 8.50m from 7.11m) for the week ending Feb. 20, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings.

The CBS Evening News added +1.39m viewers compared to the same week last year. The CBS broadcast matched its season best performance in the adults 25-54 demographic and delivered the season’s second largest weekly audience.