In 2015 — when their evening news broadcasts were locked in a tight battle for the top spot — NBC got caught double-dipping to boost ratings by re-airing the “Nightly News” at 2 a.m. and then adding the viewers for both broadcasts together.
Now, with the two networks’ numbers once again locked in close combat, ratings wonks have noticed that ABC has — without fanfare — begun airing David Muir’s “World News Tonight” in LA at 3:30 p.m. (that is, when it airs live at 6:30 p.m. on the East Coast), then also airing the normal taped version at 6:30 p.m. LA time.
ABC touted a major victory Tuesday, when new Nielsen numbers showed that Muir has grabbed the most overall viewers for a second year in a row.
But insiders believe that by quietly adding a second broadcast in LA — the second-largest TV market in the country — back in July, the network has goosed those figures.
“World News Tonight” won the year in total viewers, marking the program’s second consecutive win in overall eyeballs. This one was the newscast’s largest margin of victory over “Nightly News” to-date, according to Nielsen.
The ABC newscast rose 4 percent overall from last year, averaging 8.637 million total viewers per night, its best haul in 13 years. NBC’s version slipped to 8.153 million total viewers per night, its smallest average audience dating back to when Nielsen electronic data began in 1991. The decline is more in line with general trend of television ratings these days.
That eyeball-gap is the largest advantage in ABC’s favor over NBC since the 1995-96 season.
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