Sep 26, 2017

ABC, CBS and NBC fight for ratings bragging rights

NBC logo at its headquarters in New York. Photo: Bebeto Matthews / AP

The networks will be out today with their final 2016-17 news ratings, and everyone (says they're) a winner.

ABC: "'World News Tonight with David Muir' won the season for the first time in ... 21 years [1996,] when Peter Jennings was anchor ... The program is the most-watched newscast in America averaging more than 8 million viewers per night."

CBS: "CBS THIS MORNING was the only broadcast morning news program to post year-to-year gains in viewers ... Over the last two broadcast years, CBS THIS MORNING posted its best viewer deliveries for a CBS morning news program since the advent of people meters" in 1987.

NBC: "All four NBC News broadcasts are #1 in the demo most valued by news advertisers for the 2016-2017 broadcast season ... TODAY, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Meet the Press with Chuck Todd and Dateline are ... #1 most-watched broadcasts among the coveted demo of younger viewers," age 18 to 49.

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Axios
Updated 39 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1:30 p.m. ET: 20,412,501 — Total deaths: 744,649— Total recoveries: 12,629,465 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 1:30 p.m. ET: 5,163,509 — Total deaths: 164,994 — Total recoveries: 1,714,960 — Total tests: 63,252,257 — Map.
  3. Politics: Pelosi on state of coronavirus stimulus talks: "It's a chasm"
  4. Business: U.S. already feeling effects of ending unemployment benefits.
  5. Public health: America is flying blind on its coronavirus response.
  6. Education: Gallup: America's confidence in public school system jumps to highest level since 2004.
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Orion Rummler
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Pelosi on state of coronavirus stimulus talks: "It's a chasm"

Democrats and the Trump administration remain "miles apart" on negotiations over a coronavirus stimulus deal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Wednesday.

Driving the news, via Axios' Dion Rabouin: Congress' failure to renew enhanced unemployment measures for millions of Americans at the end of July is already affecting consumer spending patterns, holding down retail purchases and foot traffic, economists at Deutsche Bank say.

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Barak Ravid
3 hours ago - World

U.S. threatens to veto UN peacekeeping in Lebanon over Hezbollah concerns

Peacekeepers with Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon. Photo: Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty

The Trump administration is threatening to veto a resolution to extend the UN's long-standing peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon if its mandate isn't changed, Israeli and U.S. officials tell me.

Why it matters: The U.S. is the main funder of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has an annual budget of $250 million. The veto threat is a tactical move, and part of a broader effort to put pressure on Iran and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow