In war of nightly news shows, NBC notches win over ABC, CBS lags in third place: Nielsen ratings
This was the Peacock Network's first fully rated weekly win in the prized 25-54 age demographic in six years.
nypost.comHere are the latest takeaways on NBC, ABC, and CBS Evening News ratings.
- ABC News has generally led the evening newscast ratings in total viewers and the key 25–54 demographic in early 2026, with weekly tallies showing ABC World News Tonight ahead of NBC Nightly News and CBS Evening News on many weeks. This pattern was visible in reports covering weeks around January and March 2026.[1][4]
- NBC Nightly News trended behind ABC in total viewers in several weeks, but sometimes narrowed the gap in the 25–54 demo, depending on the news cycle and anchor changes. NBC still posted solid year-over-year gains in certain weeks.[2][3]
- CBS Evening News has been third in both total viewers and key demographics in multiple late-2025 to early-2026 Nielsen snapshots, though CBS reported notable gains in some weeks and highlighted improvements versus season-to-date metrics.[4][2]
Illustrative context
- Nielsen data for the week of January 19–25 showed ABC leading in total viewers and 25–54 across the major networks, with NBC and CBS following, though variations occurred by week and demographic.[1]
- A broader look at Q1 2026 ratings indicated ABC maintaining the top position in the evening news race, with CBS remaining in third and NBC in between, depending on the week.[5][4]
If you’d like, I can pull the most recent weekly Nielsen numbers and present a concise side-by-side table (total viewers and 25–54) for ABC, NBC, and CBS.