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“NBC News Daily” is now the top-rated afternoon television program in key demographic categories for the season to date, according to Nielsen data for the week of Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, 2025.

The broadcast surpassed FNC’s 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. programming block in adults 25-54 by 32 percent and in adults 18-49 by 30 percent.

It also outperformed CNN and MSNBC in the same daypart, averaging 221,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo, 159,000 in the 18-49 demo, and 1.43 million total viewers.

In comparison, MSNBC drew 47,000 in A25-54, 33,000 in A18-49, and 576,000 total viewers. CNN posted 87,000 in A25-54, 61,000 in A18-49, and 561,000 total viewers.

FNC delivered between 1.74 million and 1.81 million total viewers in the same time period.

“NBC News Daily” also posted its largest audience in 36 weeks, dating back to Feb. 17, 2025.

The show achieved its first total viewer win over ABC’s “GMA3: What You Need to Know” in four weeks, recording its biggest audience margin over that program since launch.

Compared to the previous week, the NBC program more than doubled its demo lead over “GMA3” and reached a seven-week high among the 25-54 demographic. For the same week, “GMA3” averaged 195,000 viewers in A25-54, 147,000 in A18-49, and 1.3 million total viewers.

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ABC’s averages were based on four days of data, as most of its programming was retitled following a YouTube TV carriage dispute beginning on the evening of Oct. 30, which impacted Nielsen’s tabulation.

Nielsen reported that NBC’s midday news program now leads all afternoon network and cable news competitors in the advertiser-coveted demos for the season.

“NBC News Daily” is produced live from noon to 4 p.m. eastern, with most NBC stations dipping into the broadcast live or on tape delay for one hour per day. Because of time zone differences, the hour used is not consistent across the country, whereas cable news outlets typically air the same programming nationwide live. 

All three hours also stream on NBC News Now, but those figures are not included in these ratings.

This story has been updated to include FNC total viewership figures and context about how “NBC News Daily” ratings are calculated. The original version of this article did not contain errors in the ratings figures presented, however. 

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