Major broadcast evening newscasts on ABC, NBC, and CBS all recorded week-to-week audience declines during the week of October 26, 2026, just ahead of the pivotal U.S. midterm elections. Even as the flagship broadcast programs slipped in both overall viewership and the key Adults 25-54 advertising demographic, basic cable news networks experienced notable momentum, led by across-the-board gains at MS NOW and double-digit demographic growth in primetime at Fox News.

The latest viewership data, based on Nielsen national Live+Same Day Big Data and panel program ratings, highlights a shifting news consumption landscape during the final full week of October. According to Adweek, every broadcast evening news program maintained substantial year-over-year growth compared to the same period in 2025, despite the immediate week-over-week pullbacks.

Broadcast Evening News Rankings and Declines

In the broadcast arena, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir remained the dominant force on television, finishing first in both total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demographic.

According to TV Insider, the ABC broadcast averaged 8.454 million total viewers and 1.157 million demographic viewers for the week of October 26. Those figures represent a 4 percent decline in total audience and a 3 percent dip in the key demographic compared to the prior week. According to Media Confidential, ABC outpaced second-place NBC by 1.802 million total viewers and 108,000 viewers in the 25-54 demographic, while leading third-place CBS by 4.267 million total viewers and 567,000 demo viewers.

NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas secured the second spot in both categories, pulling in an average of 6.652 million total viewers and 1.049 million viewers in the Adults 25-54 demographic. NBC posted the smallest week-over-week total audience erosion among the big three networks, slipping just 1 percent in total viewers and 5 percent in the demographic.

Meanwhile, CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil experienced the steepest week-to-week drop-off.

The broadcast averaged 4.187 million total viewers and 590,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demographic, falling below the 600,000 benchmark in the key advertising category. For CBS, the numbers marked a 9 percent decrease in overall audience and a 14 percent slide in the demographic compared to the week of October 19. To put the sequential declines in perspective, The Independent notes that during the prior week beginning October 19, ABC had averaged 8.84 million viewers, NBC drew 6.72 million, and CBS brought in 4.63 million.

The weekly broadcast averages for the week of October 26 only reflect four days of programming, running Monday through Thursday. On Friday, October 30, all three networks retitled their broadcasts to WNT-ABC, NBC Nitely News, and CBS Evening Nws, excluding those telecasts from both the weekly and season-to-date averages.

Year-Over-Year Growth and Broader Network Context

While the week-over-week metrics trended downward for the broadcast networks, the annual comparisons tell a much stronger story for linear news consumption in an election year.

Compared to the corresponding week in 2025 (beginning October 27), all three evening newscasts posted solid increases.

ABC World News Tonight grew by 9 percent in total viewers and surged 22 percent in the Adults 25-54 demographic year-over-year. NBC Nightly News saw an 8 percent increase in total viewers and a 24 percent jump in the demo over its 2025 performance. Even CBS Evening News improved upon its prior-year metrics, rising 3 percent in total viewers and 20 percent in the demographic. However, CBS has faced persistent ratings challenges throughout its broader programming overhaul under Paramount's David Ellison and CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. Those struggles carried over into the subsequent midterm election night coverage, where early Nielsen data showed CBS finishing last among major broadcast and cable networks with roughly 2.63 million primetime viewers, trailing NBC (6.52 million), ABC (4.91 million), CNN (3.93 million), MS NOW (3.92 million), and Fox News (3.88 million).

Elsewhere on the broadcast dial during the week of October 26, other network news divisions found pockets of growth.

According to ABC News, its late-night program Nightline averaged 989,000 total viewers, 197,000 Adults 25-54 viewers, and 121,000 Adults 18-49 viewers, outperforming NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers. On Sunday, November 1, ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos ranked first in total viewers for the fourth straight week with 2.786 million viewers. In daytime, ABC News reported that The View ranked first among network talk shows for the week with 2.579 million total viewers, topping TODAY Third Hour (1.929 million), NBC News Daily (1.539 million), and TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle (1.380 million).

Cable News Performance: MS NOW and Fox News Surge

As broadcast evening news dipped, viewers actively turned to basic cable news in the days leading up to the midterms. According to Adweek, MS NOW stood out as the sole cable news network to notch week-over-week gains across both primetime and total day measurements in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demographic.

During primetime, MS NOW averaged 998,000 total viewers and 116,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo, marking a 5 percent increase in both metrics compared to the prior week.

Across total day viewing, MS NOW drew 622,000 total viewers (up 2 percent) and 70,000 demo viewers (up 4 percent). Those numbers kept MS NOW in third place among all basic cable networks for total viewership in both primetime and total day, and sixth in the demographic. In the individual program rankings, the 9 p.m. ET broadcast of MS NOW's The Briefing with Jen Psaki secured the 13th spot among the week's most-watched cable news shows with 1.242 million total viewers.

Fox News continued to lead the cable news pack in overall volume and dominated the individual program charts, claiming 12 of the 15 most-watched cable news telecasts for the week. The network's 5 p.m. ET panel show, The Five, took the number one overall spot with 2.74 million total viewers. In primetime, Fox News averaged 1.628 million total viewers and 154,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demographic.

While that represented a 7 percent dip in total primetime viewers from the week of October 19, Fox News was the only cable news network to achieve double-digit growth in a measured demographic, jumping 10 percent in the primetime 25-54 category. Across total day, Fox News averaged 1.088 million total viewers (down 6 percent) and 101,000 demo viewers (down 2 percent), maintaining first place among all basic cable networks in total day audience and moving up from third to second place in the total day demo.

CNN experienced a quieter week overall, though it captured first-place demographic wins on Monday, October 26 (carried by MS NOW in primetime), Saturday, October 31 in primetime and between 6 and 8 p.m. ET, and Sunday, November 1 between 12 and 4 p.m. ET. For the full week, CNN averaged 618,000 primetime viewers (down 2 percent) and 111,000 primetime demo viewers (down 5 percent). In total day, CNN remained flat at 424,000 total viewers while slipping 2 percent in the demo to 64,000 viewers.

For broader context, Adweek notes that the full monthly October primetime averages stood at 1.675 million total viewers for Fox News, 925,000 for MS NOW, and 598,000 for CNN.

Frequently Asked Questions

What were the exact week-over-week figures for Fox News, MS NOW, and CNN?

In primetime for the week of October 26, Fox News averaged 1.628 million total viewers (-7%) and 154,000 demo viewers (+10%); MS NOW averaged 998,000 total viewers (+5%) and 116,000 demo viewers (+5%); and CNN averaged 618,000 total viewers (-2%) and 111,000 demo viewers (-5%). In total day, Fox News averaged 1.088 million viewers (-6%) and 101,000 in the demo (-2%); MS NOW averaged 622,000 viewers (+2%) and 70,000 in the demo (+4%); and CNN averaged 424,000 viewers (flat) and 64,000 in the demo (-2%).

Did the excluded Friday telecasts affect the broadcast evening news comparisons?

Yes, the weekly averages for ABC, NBC, and CBS only reflect Monday through Thursday telecasts because all three networks retitled their Friday, October 30 broadcasts (WNT-ABC, NBC Nitely News, and CBS Evening Nws).

Because Friday evenings typically see lower television usage, excluding Friday data is a standard industry practice to protect season averages, though it limits the dataset to a four-day window.

Do the year-over-year increases for the broadcast programs indicate a durable trend?

The year-over-year gains—ranging from 3 percent to 9 percent in total viewers and 20 percent to 24 percent in the Adults 25-54 demographic—primarily reflect heightened viewer interest in the 2026 midterm election cycle compared to the non-election autumn period in late October 2025.

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