"DATELINE NBC" finished 2016 ranked as the #1 newsmagazine across the board on Fridays, averaging 4.9 million total viewers and outperforming ABC's "20/20" by +362,000 viewers (+8%). This is Dateline's first yearly win over 20/20 among the key A25-54 and A18-49 demos since 2011.
In the news demo of A25-54 viewers, Dateline Friday averaged 1.73 million viewers, +168,000 more than
ABC (+11%), marking a +476,000 viewer turnaround from a -308,000 A25-54 loss in 2015. Among A18-49 viewers, Dateline Friday averaged 1.3 million viewers, +114,000 ahead of
ABC (+10%). The advantage represents a 405,000 viewer reversal of a -291,000 loss in 2015.
For the fourth quarter of 2016, Dateline also finished as the #1 newsmagazine across the board on Friday nights, posting its biggest demo advantages over
ABC in 10 years. Dateline Friday averaged 1.73 million A25-54 viewers, leading
20/20 by 270,000 (+18%), increasing its delivery +3% from the fourth quarter of 2015. The news demo win represents a +550,000 viewer turnaround from a year ago. Among A18-49, Dateline Friday averaged 1.3 million viewers, +188,000 (+17%) higher than
20/20 and up +3% from the same quarter last year. Dateline's A18-49 win was a +437,000 viewer turnaround from 4Q 2015. Dateline Friday averaged 5 million total viewers, topping
20/20 by +728,000 (+17%), representing +6% growth from 5Q 2015.
