DATELINE Surpasses 20/20 in Key Demos for Second Straight Season

Breaking news to your phone. US mobile only. No password required.

Broadway + NYC

Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Off Broadway

Cabaret

Dance

Opera

Classical Music

West End / UK

International

Canada

Australia / New Zealand

Europe

Asia

Latin America

Africa / Middle East

Entertainment

Ctrl + K to open · Esc to close

The newsmagazine marks its 35th season with record-breaking viewership across streaming and digital platforms, including a 2 billion download milestone for its showcast.

Most Popular

Get all the top news & discounts for TV & beyond. No password required.

DATELINE won Friday nights in the key demographics for the 2025-2026 broadcast season, topping ABC's 20/20 for the second consecutive season, most recently by double digits. According to Nielsen Media Research, DATELINE averaged 743,000 A25-54 viewers, topping 20/20 by +81,000 (+12%). Among A18-49 viewers, DATELINE averaged 528,000, beating ABC by +58,000 (+13%). DATELINE also averaged 3.5 million total viewers.

Get all the top news & discounts for TV & beyond.

The broadcast remains the #1 most-watched news magazine franchise and #1 most-watched true-crime franchise in total linear minutes watched for the season, with 151.2 million total viewers, up +4% vs. last season. Viewers also consumed over 137.5 billion minutes of DATELINE across TV and digital platforms, up +2% vs. last season. Dateline 24/7 marked its 7th consecutive record season, while DATELINE's showcast feed hit 2 billion downloads.

During the season, DATELINE launched multiple podcasts, including Before & After with Lester Holt , presented its first live event in Nashville and featured extensive reports on the trial of Luigi Mangione, the tragedy at Camp Mystic and the passing of Dolly Parton . DATELINE also debuted Dateline en Español, an always-on streaming channel hosted by Noticias Telemundo and Weekend NBC Nightly News anchor José Díaz-Balart.

On Thursday, September 24, the Empire State Building will shine light blue in celebration of DATELINE's 35th season. The building hosted a special lighting ceremony earlier today with anchor Lester Holt and correspondents Blayne Alexander, Andrea Canning and Josh Mankiewicz.

The 35th season of DATELINE kicks off this Friday at 9 p.m. ET.

Photo Credit: Empire State Realty Trust

Nominate your favorite local productions and performers before the deadline on October 31, 2026.

SLOW HORSES Season 6 Episode 2 to Air on Apple TV

Bill Maher Marks 9/11 Anniversary With New Rule On Gaza And Western Values

LAST SEEN Episode Four to Premiere on Apple TV

IHEARTRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL to Stream on Disney+ and Hulu

When are you seeing ?

Get an Alert Each Time Rachel Stone Writes

BroadwayWorld TV

Breaking Broadway news & show discounts. No password required.

Breaking alerts by text. US mobile only.

POPULAR

Sign up for announcements and exclusive discounts on tickets to your favorite shows!

© 2026 — Copyright Wisdom Digital Media , all rights reserved. Privacy Policy

Episode

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/DATELINE-Tops-ABCs-2020-in-Key-Demos-for-Second-Consecutive-Season-20260922)._