The first full week of 2025 was busy for breaking news. The Los Angeles wildfires and former President Jimmy Carter‘s state funeral dominated the headlines and propelled the three evening newscasts to double-digit growth.
ABC World News with David Muir continued to lead the way as the No. 1 program of the week on all of broadcast and cable (excluding sports) in total viewers. Muir was the only evening news anchor to report from L.A. during the wildfires, anchoring WNT’s Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday broadcasts from the region.
Wednesday’s broadcast in particular saw WNT record its largest performance in the Adults 25-54 demo in nearly two years. Meanwhile, the Thursday broadcast—the day of Carter’s funeral—was its most-watched since Jan. 30, 2023.
World News Tonight averaged 8.866 million total viewers and 1.344 million A25-54 viewers for gains of +27% and +52% compared to the previous week. Looking at its performance alongside the same week in 2024 (the week beginning Jan. 8), WNT was up +2% in total viewers and +18% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt was the No. 2 telecast in both measured categories, averaging 7.379 million total viewers and 1.155 million demo viewers. That translates to week-to-week gains of +24% in the former category and +37% in the latter. Year-to-year, Nightly News was up +1% in total viewers and +5% in the demo.
CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell saw 5.247 million total viewers and 743,000 viewers in the demo for gains of +18% and +16%, respectively. It was the only newscast to experience year-to-year declines, though, dipping by -2% in total viewers and -5% in the demo compared to 2024. O’Donnell is set to exit the anchor’s chair following President-elect Donald Trump‘s Jan. 20 inauguration, which could lead to a viewership spike.
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
| • Total Viewers: | 8,866,000 | 7,379,000 | 5,247,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,344,000 | 1,155,000 | 743,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live+SD Current Week (w/o 1/6/24), Previous Week (w/o 12/30/24) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 1/8/24). Most Current Data Stream: 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24-1/12/25) and 2023-2024 Season (9/25/23-1/14/24). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.
