ABC’s flagship news program, “World News Tonight” with David Muir, is seeing troubling signs of decline following the network’s widely criticized handling of the September presidential debate. The numbers are in, and they don’t look good. Recent reports indicate that the once-dominant evening newscast has seen a significant dip in its ratings for the 2023-2024 season—particularly in the key demographic that drives advertising dollars.
Despite boasting an eight-season winning streak as the nation’s top evening newscast, “World News Tonight” has experienced a sharp drop in viewership. The show averaged 7.72 million viewers this season, a 5% year-over-year decline. But even more concerning for ABC are the numbers among the coveted 25-54 age demographic, where the newscast saw a whopping 17% drop, averaging just 1.07 million viewers.
Many observers are pointing to ABC’s mishandling of the recent presidential debate as the main culprit for the network’s woes. Moderators David Muir and Linsay Davis, who were supposed to facilitate a fair and balanced discussion, were instead seen as biased, repeatedly interrupting former President Donald Trump while giving Vice President Kamala Harris a free pass. Critics argue that the moderators’ obvious bias and selective fact-checking left viewers questioning ABC’s credibility.
During the debate, Muir and Davis constantly interjected to fact-check Trump’s statements, while Harris was allowed to make dubious claims without a single challenge. This blatant one-sidedness did not go unnoticed by Trump or his supporters. The former president wasted no time calling out Muir, labeling him a “lightweight” and accusing ABC News of violating an agreement not to fact-check candidates during the debate. Trump claimed the debate was a “three-on-one” attack, with Muir and Davis acting as de facto advocates for the Democratic Party.
Speaking outside Trump Tower, the former president didn’t hold back in his critique. “David Muir, a real lightweight,” Trump said. “I had one against three, but I think we did great. But David Muir of ABC, fake news, when I said that crime is way up in our country, he corrected me. But I was right.”
Trump pointed out that while Muir was quick to jump on him about his comments on rising crime, Harris was allowed to spread falsehoods with no pushback. “Charlottesville, she was wrong. All of the different things—almost everything she said—and she was never corrected. But he corrected me on crime,” Trump continued.
The former president also revealed that ABC had violated an agreement made prior to the debate. According to Trump, both campaigns had agreed there would be no corrections or fact-checking during the event. “We had a deal with ABC that there would be no corrections of any kind, and they violated the deal. Why? Because they’re bad people, and they’re fake news,” Trump said, driving home his long-standing criticisms of the mainstream media.
Trump concluded by saying that David Muir has “lost all credibility,” and it appears that millions of Americans agree. With viewership numbers plummeting and trust in legacy media at an all-time low, it’s clear that ABC’s bias and mishandling of the debate have cost them dearly.
As trust in the mainstream media continues to erode, it’s no wonder more and more Americans are turning to alternative news sources that respect their audience and present both sides of the story. ABC’s dramatic ratings drop should serve as a wake-up call to legacy media outlets that viewers are tired of the obvious double standards. If they continue down this path, they risk further alienating the very people they rely on for their survival.
