For the first time in more than 10 years, ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson finished the year as the top-rated evening newscast.
World News finished 2007 ahead of NBC’sNightly News with Brian Williams in total viewers and the 25-54 demographic. According to Nielsen Media Research, World News averaged 8.39 million viewers each week (with 2.58 million in the demo) compared with Nightly’s 8.3 million total (2.52 million in the demo).
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric closed 2007 with 6.44 million viewers (2.01 million in the demo).
World News weathered months of turmoil beginning with the death of longtime anchor Peter Jennings in August 2005 and followed by the grievous injuries sustained by Bob Woodruff in January 2006 and Elizabeth Vargas’ resignation later that year. After finally settling on Charles Gibson as its anchor, it gradually gained ground, overtaking perennial leader NBC in February 2007.
