TV news ratings for the second quarter of 2025 have been released, and they do not bode well for many major news shows. The numbers were released on Nielsen ratings and covered everything fromWorld News Tonight with David MuirtoCBS Evening News. While some shows proved their worth with growing ratings, others sank uncomfortably.
The second quarter of 2025 includes April to June, and while there has certainly been no shortage of breaking news (or interest in it) this hasn’t reflected a ratings boost for many of the major networks. WithCBS, ABC, NBC, and more competing for network growth, and competing against an increasing trend of getting news from social media (rather than a traditional news program), the numbers may be concerning.
Overall Ratings For News Shows On ABC, CBS & NBC Are Down Compared To The 1st Quarter Of 2025
The Drop In Ratings Is Unusual
According toTV Insider, ABC had a fantastic quarter with its hit news show, ABC’sWorld News Tonight with David Muir, leading with approximately 7.37 million viewers on a nightly basis. It also had an impressive lead over NBC’s and CBS' news shows. However, even with the numbers,all three network shows had lower ratings than in 2025’s first quarter.
Despite the declining ratings,ABC’sWorld News Tonight with David Muirstill remains an impressive lead. It particularly shines in the adults 25-54 demographic, which is one of the biggest demographics for news. This lead has lasted since the first quarter of 2020. WhileWorld News Tonightremains the leader, the decline is still worrying.
NBC Nightly News Has An Uptick In Ratings Since Tom Llamas Took Over
Llamas Is Growing NBC Nightly News
While the quarter had lower ratings than usual, there has been some good news for NBC. Ever sinceTom Llamas took over Lester Holt’s role onNBC Nightly News, the show’s ratings have increased. This is big news becauseLlamas has only been the host since July 25, 2025, and he is already having a major impact on the network.
…Llamas is still a new host, and already in the first quarter, his ratings are bigger than Holt’s.
TV Insideralso reported thatNBC Nightly News' numbers for June were up 7% compared to June 2024. While this may seem low, it is a significant number. This is especially since Llamas is still a new host, and already in the first quarter, his ratings are bigger than Holt’s.
Fox Continues To Dominate On Cable, Beating CNN & MSNBC
Fox News Is Highly Watched
Even with the recent Nielsen ratings, all is not lost. Fox continues in the lead on cable television when compared to both CNN and MSNBC.Fox News' ratings may have also dropped when compared to 2025’s first quarter, butFox Newsretained an impressive 1.63 million daily viewers, in contrast to CNN’s 406,000 daily viewers and MSNBC’s 596,000.
Similar to ABC’s news show,Fox Newsalso dominated the 25-54 age group demographic. It achieved an outstanding 202,000 daily viewers. This number was once again higher when compared to CNN’s and MSNBC’s viewers, at 71,000 and 57,000 viewers, respectively, but once again,Fox News' numbers were a drop from its first quarter.
