ABC World News Tonight with David Muir’s quarterly ratings have dropped by nearly 1 million viewers, and it looks as though competitors like NBC are slowly bridging the gap

David Muir hosting ABC World News Tonight

For the first time in a while, David Muir’s viewership at ABC has taken a negative nosedive.

According to The Sun US, ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir’s quarterly ratings have allegedly dropped by nearly 1 million viewers. The 51-year-old host famously fronts the long-running ABC program, which has been crowned the most-watched news show on broadcast television thanks to its impressive ratings and viewership.

However, despite its crowing glory, ratings for the news program are said to have slipped this quarter. Ratings for the second quarter of 2025 brought in 7,370,000 viewers, which is nearly one million viewers less than the first quarter of the year, with 8,132,000 fans.

Following closely behind David is NBC Nightly News, with Tom Llamas in second place, garnering an equally impressive 5,788,000 viewers. Ratings for the rival program also jump up each week.

ABC World News Tonight viewership is down by nearly 1 million

CBS is also in the running with 60 Minutes Presents, coming close behind NBC Nightly News.

The drop in figures over at ABC comes after David took a break from the show, presumably for the summer. But on Monday, he was back like he never left, ensuring the nation was up to date on the latest news and scandals in the world.

While his fanbase of swooning viewers were happy to see him back, they were not too pleased to hear about one tragic news story that was covered during Monday’s show.

David kicked off the segment by acknowledging his return, “Good evening, it is great to be back with you at home,” before delving into a tragic news story about an explosion in Missouri.

He continued: “We do begin tonight here with the scene of destruction after a massive explosion, multiple homes up in flames in a neighborhood just north of St Louis, Missouri. The evidence is coming in late today. At this hour, residents are being told to stay away.

“Authorities on the scene say the explosion erupted in one home, setting others nearby on fire. The flames continuing to spread, multiple homes going up in flames, damaging more than 20 homes in all.”

David Muir took a short hiatus from ABC World News Tonight this month(Image: ABC)

Speaking of the explosion, he continued, “Tonight, a rescue Task Force continues searching for any possible victims in the rubble. So far, they say three people have been injured. The bomb and arson unit have been called to the scene, leading the investigation.

“Crews from the gas company are there as well,” the journalist continued, pointing out, “All are now investigating what could have caused this.”

“ABC News Mola Lenghi with the images tonight of what we know so far,” he concluded as he passed the segment on to Mola, who was reporting from the devastation scenes in Missouri.

A clip of the segment was shared via ABC World News Tonight’s official Instagram account, along with the caption, “Multiple homes were leveled after a powerful explosion in a neighborhood north of St. Louis, Missouri. At least three people were injured, and more than 20 properties were damaged. Mola Lenghi reports.”

Viewers were quick to flood the post with comments as they shared their heartbreak over the tragedy.