NewsNation recorded a significant increase in viewership during its special live coverage of the U.S. missile strikes on Iran over the weekend.
The network broke into coverage Saturday evening and remained live through the overnight hours and into Sunday, leveraging its weekday anchor lineup to deliver continuous updates.
Coverage began Saturday night, with Chris Cuomo anchoring from 7 to 9 p.m. ET, followed by Leland Vittert from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. ET. NewsNation continued with live overnight programming from 2 to 7 a.m. ET.
During Saturday’s prime-time block from 8 to 11 p.m. ET, the network drew 200,000 total viewers and 41,000 adults in the 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen data. Viewership peaked at 10 p.m. ET during coverage of former President Donald Trump’s national address, which averaged 256,000 viewers overall and 68,000 in the 25-54 demo, the Nielsen ratings revealed.
According to the network, weekend prime-time viewership was up 317 percent in total viewers and 273 percent in the key demo compared to the same time period last year (June 22, 2024).
On Sunday, NewsNation Live Weekend with anchor Laura Ingle aired from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET and delivered its highest-rated telecast since launching a year ago, with 156,000 total viewers and 32,000 in the 25-54 demographic.
For the week, NewsNation reported its third highest-rated performance to date in both total day and prime-time. The network averaged 74,000 viewers in total day and 150,000 in prime-time. It ranked #40 among all cable networks in prime-time for the week.
The weekend coverage marked another instance of NewsNation expanding its live programming during major breaking news events, part of its broader strategy to grow its news audience.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group.
