TV Ratings: ABC’s David Muir Dominates

ABC's David Muir interviewed President Trump Tuesday

ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir continued to dominate not just the broadcast and cable news ratings, but all of television for the week of April 27, with an average total audience of 10.5 million viewers. Forbes reports not only was World News the most-watched show in all of television on the week, but weeknight airings of ABC’s flagship newscast took four slots in the list of the ten most-watched shows for the week.

The most-watched episode in all of television last week was Tuesday evening’s World News Tonight, which delivered a total audience of 11.23 million viewers, two to three times the audience of high-profile prime-time cable news hosts like Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson. The ratings power of Muir’s broadcast is all the more impressive given the lower overall viewership levels in the early evening compared to prime time.

On the week, ABC also finished first among viewers 25-54, the demographic group most valued by national advertisers, with an average audience of 2.137 million viewers. NBC Nightly News was second (2.084 million viewers) and the CBS Evening News finished third (1.144 million viewers). It’s the first time in 24 years that ABC has led among total viewers and in the key demo, the last time being the 1995-1996 season.


With extensive coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, the broadcast evening newscasts are seeing huge audiences, with ABC up 25 percent compared to the same week a year ago, according to ratings data compiled by Nielsen. With World News extending its lead over longtime ratings rival NBC Nightly News, ABC now has its largest lead among total viewers in at least 28 years—dating to the start of Nielsen’s electronic database in the 1991-1992 season.