CBS Evening News Falls Below 600,000 Demo Viewers as All Three Broadcasts Lose Audience

CBS Evening News dropped below the 600,000-viewer mark in the Adults 25-54 demographic (the ad-priced 25-54 cohort broadcasters sell against) the week of October 26, losing double digits in that category while its two rivals posted smaller declines. All three broadcast evening newscasts — ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News and CBS Evening News — fell week-to-week in both total viewers and the demo, according to Nielsen national live+same-day big data and program ratings, one week before the midterm elections.

What did the numbers show?

ABC World News Tonight with David Muir led the week with 8.454 million total viewers and 1.157 million A25-54 viewers. The newscast was down 4% in total viewers and 3% in the demo versus the previous week.

NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas ranked second, averaging 6.652 million total viewers and 1.049 million demo viewers. It posted the smallest total-viewer decline of the three, at 1%, but fell 5% in the demo.

CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil finished third with 4.187 million total viewers and 590,000 demo viewers, down 9% in total viewers and 14% in the demo week-to-week — the steepest losses of the trio.

• Total viewers: ABC 8,454,000; NBC 6,652,000; CBS 4,187,000
• Adults 25-54: ABC 1,157,000; NBC 1,049,000; CBS 590,000

How do the numbers compare to last year?

The year-over-year picture reverses the trend. Against the same week in 2025 (the week beginning October 27), World News Tonight was up 9% in total viewers and 22% in the demo. Nightly News rose 8% in total viewers and 24% in the demo. CBS Evening News gained 3% in total viewers and 20% in the demo.

So the week's slide is a sequential dip, not an erosion of the season's gains — all three broadcasts remain well ahead of their 2025 baselines.

Why only four days count?

The weekly averages are based on four days, Monday through Thursday. The Friday, October 30 broadcasts were retitled — WNT-ABC, NBC Nitely News and CBS Evening Nws — and Nielsen excluded those telecasts from the weekly and season averages. Season-to-date comparisons use Nielsen's Most Current Data Stream, covering September 21 – November 1, 2026 against September 22 – November 2, 2025, with averages based on regularly titled telecasts only.

The retitling means the reported averages understate each program's full-week reach — a caveat worth holding against any single-week conclusion.

What does this mean going into the midterms?

The takeaway in plain words: all three newscasts lost audience in the final full week before the midterm elections, but every one of them still beats its year-ago numbers — and election-week coverage will now test whether the dip was noise or the start of a slide.