Tom Llamas Boosts NBC Nightly News in Key Demo, Outpacing ABC

Since Tom Llamas took over as anchor of “NBC Nightly News” on June 2, the program has gained traction among younger viewers. 

On Tuesday, it surpassed “ABC World News Tonight” in the 25-54 demo for the first time under Llamas, averaging 904,000 viewers compared to ABC’s 891,000, per Nielsen data. 

This marked a 9% year-over-year increase for NBC, while ABC saw an 8% decline. NBC also led in the 18-49 demo on Monday and Tuesday, averaging 650,500 viewers to ABC’s 621,500.

Despite these gains, “ABC World News Tonight” with David Muir continues to dominate in total viewers, averaging 7.09 million on Tuesday against NBC’s 5.81 million. 

In June, ABC averaged 7.31 million viewers, a 1% year-over-year increase, while NBC saw a 0.4% uptick to 5.67 million. 

“CBS Evening News” trailed with 3.93 million, down 10% from last year.Llamas, 46, succeeded Lester Holt in March after Holt’s decade-long tenure. Alongside “Nightly News,” Llamas continues to anchor “Top Story” on NBC News Now. In his first month, NBC’s 25-54 demo viewership rose 7% year-over-year to 823,000, signaling a promising start.