With the news that the “NBC Nightly News” has now lost to ABC’s “World News Tonight” for four weeks in a row, the fall of NBC News is nearly complete. The “Nightly News” now joins the once-mighty franchises of “Meet the Press” and “The Today Show” as shadows of their former ratings glory. As far as NBC’s cable news network MSNBC, things are so bad that in some areas, the even far more left-wing CNN is beating them.
The slow-motion collapse of the “Nightly News” has to be a bitter pill for NBC execs to swallow. At least, they could once say, we have THAT. Things fell apart quickly, tough, after suspended-anchor Brian Williams was outed as a serial liar earlier this year. Lester Holt was brought in to replace Williams. The ratings slide that began even before the Williams’ scandal only seemed to accelerate. Now the second place status of NBC News appears to becoming something close to permanent:
“World News Tonight” attracts 8,219,000 viewers vs. NBC’s 8,097,000 viewers, the program’s fourth week in a row on top
David Muir’s “World News Tonight” continued its ratings streak over NBC News’ “Nightly News,” beating the program in total viewers for the fourth week in a row.
For the week of April 20th, ABC’s WNT attracted 8,219,000 viewers vs. NBC’s 8,097,000 viewers–a 122,000 viewer gap. WNT also won in the advertising-coveted 25-54 demo, 2,053,000 viewers vs NBC’s 1,873,000 viewers–a 180,000 viewer difference.
ABC reached the trifecta, winning in the 18-49 demo, 1,406,000 viewers vs. NBC’s 1,302,000 viewers–a 104,000 viewer difference.
What did NBC News expect after years and years of scandal and corruption. It wasn’t just Brian Williams:
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During last year’s presidential election, Andrea Mitchell was caught manufacturing a Romney gaffe where none existed.
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During last year’s GOP primary, Ed Schultz edited video of Texas Governor Rick Perry to make him look racist.
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In April of last year, the “Today Show” was caught editing audio of a 9-1-1 call to make George Zimmerman look racist.
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In August of 2009, Contessa Brewer sliced and diced a photograph so it wouldn’t look like a black man attended a Tea Party carrying a firearm.
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Just this week, NBC News maliciously edited video of a town council meeting to make it look as though Second Amendment civil rights activists heckled a parent who lost his son in Newtown.
This is nothing more than the self-inflicted chickens coming home to roost at NBC News.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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