TV Ratings: ABC WNT No. 1 For Broadcast and Cable

“World News Tonight with David Muir” stood as the No. 1 program in Total Viewers (8.537 million) on all of broadcast and cable for the second straight week during the week of April 20, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

• “World News Tonight” ranked as the No. 1 newscast across broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (8.537 million), Adults 25-54 (1.056 million) and Adults 18-49 (778,000).
• “World News Tonight” outperformed “NBC Nightly News” (6.168 million, 831,000 and 612,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+38%/+2.369 million), Adults 25-54 (+27%/+225,000) and Adults 18-49 (+27%/+166,000).
• “World News Tonight” grew its margins over “NBC Nightly News” week to week in Total Viewers (+37% – 2.369 million vs. 1.734 million), Adults 25-54 (+236% – 225,000 vs. 67,000) and Adults 18-49 (+93% – 166,000 vs. 86,000), scoring its largest overall viewer lead in over 6 years — since w/o 4/13/20.
• For the ninth consecutive week, “World News Tonight” built on its Total Viewer lead over “NBC Nightly News” on the same week last year (+25% – 1.369 million vs. 1.895 million) by double digits.
• “World News Tonight” improved on the previous week in Total Viewers (+4%/+362,000 – 8.537 million vs. 8.175 million), Adults 25-54 (+5%/+46,000 – 1.056 million vs. 1.010 million) and Adults 18-49 (+5%/+34,000 – 778,000 vs. 744,000), standing as the only evening newscast to grow week to week in all key target demos.

Meanwhile, The Tony Dokoupil-led CBS Evening News posted its lowest-rated month in total viewers since he took over the anchor chair, averaging fewer than 3.9 million viewers in April. In the key 25-54 demographic, the newscast averaged just 497,000 viewers — its weakest April performance in that demo this century. Total viewership did manage a modest 2% gain from April 2025, which remains the program’s lowest-rated April of the century in overall audience.

The numbers mark a shaky start to Dokoupil’s second quarter in the role and raise fresh questions about whether he can reverse the fortunes of network television’s perennial third-place evening newscast. The show averaged 4.279 million total viewers in the first quarter, down 7% from a year earlier, while its 25-54 audience fell nearly 20% to 535,000.