David Muir's World News Tonight just notched it biggest win over CBS since ratings began being recorded electronically in 1991, according to Nielsen.
The development puts the broadcast a full 4.7 million viewers in front of its longtime rival, CBS Evening News. Muir, 52, was met with more than 8.6 million viewers last week—more than double that of CBS's faltering new host Tony Dokoupil.
The difference was even more pronounced amongst younger viewers, who helped Muir record near-150 percent wins in both the 25-54 and 18-48 age demographics.
Muir is also leading Tom Llamas over at NBC by nearly 1 million viewers overall and roughly 700,000 for viewers between 25 and 54. The total viewer lead over NBC is ABC's largest in 31 years since the 1994-1995 season.
The numbers were achieved thanks to four straight weeks of year-to-year growth, solidifying Muir's status as legacy media's top dog.
It's been nearly 12 years since he stepped in to succeed a then-second-place Diane Sawyer. The show had roughly the same amount of viewers back then—an anomaly amid cord-cutting and other trends. NBC and CBS have shed millions over the same timespan.
CBS's struggles are particularly dire: Dokoupil delivered the network's lowest-rated first quarter of the 21st century after being promoted from CBS Mornings in January.
Muir, meanwhile, recently emerged victor in a years-long feud with fellow star George Stephanopoulos, the host of Good Morning America.
David Muir's World News Tonight just notched it biggest win over CBS since ratings began being recorded in the Nielsen electronic database in 1991
The development puts the broadcast a full 4.7 million viewers in front of its longtime rival, which is now hosted by former CBS Mornings host Tony Dokoupil. He has failed to move the needle
Dokoupil, 45, was elevated by Tiffany Network editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. His once-esteemed broadcast averaged just 4.3 million viewers a night for the quarter, trending downward.
For the past two weeks, the show notched less than 4 million views—a marker that raised alarms only a year ago when a dual-anchor experiment from former executives caused roughly 1.2 million to tune out.
The two-anchor format was scrapped by Weiss late last year. She was hired by Paramount's David Ellison in October. Weiss went with Dokoupil in January after failing to hire a big name externally, Status reported at the time.
ABC and parent company Disney has had its own leadership changes, but have found a steady hand in Muir—seemingly at the expense of their other main star, Stephanopoulos.
The 65-year-old was once ABC's chief reporter and chief political correspondent. Today, he holds the title of 'chief anchor.' Muir leads the network's breaking news and political coverage, the Daily Mail understands.
The arrangement bred tension between the two behind the scenes for several years, Status reported in December 2024.
Former CNN reporter Oliver Darcy, the publication's founder, told the Daily Mail the following March that the animosity has since evaporated, with it being understood that Muir is ABC's new 'lead man.'
Stephanopoulos still has 'his own real estate' in the network, Darcy added.
Muir recently emerged victor in a years-long feud with fellow star George Stephanopoulos, the host of Good Morning America. He's been ABC top star since stepping in for a then-second-place Diane Sawyer. Twelve years later, World News Tonight is overwhelmingly in first-place
Muir, pictured being honored at the Time100 gala in April, now oversees ABC's breaking news and political coverage
'He was the lead man for a while and now it's [Muir].' Stephanopoulos made his GMA debut in 2009. He joined ABC News in 1997 as a news analyst.
Muir joined ABC as a relatively unknown reporter in 2003. He was noticed early on by Bob Iger, he said
Iger, 75, retired this year.