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''ABC World News Tonight'' (titled ''ABC World News Tonight with David Muir'' for its weeknight broadcasts since September 2014) is the flagship daily evening television news program of
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
, the news division of the
American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...
(ABC) television network in the United States. It is currently the most watched network newscast in the United States, with an average of 2 million more than its nearest rival, ''
NBC Nightly News ''NBC Nightly News'' (titled as ''NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt'' for its weeknight broadcasts since June 22, 2015) is the flagship daily evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NB ...
''. Since 2014, the program's weekday broadcasts have been anchored by
David Muir David Jason Muir (born November 8, 1973) is an American journalist and the anchor of ''ABC World News Tonight'' and co-anchor of the ABC News magazine '' 20/20'', part of the news department of the ABC broadcast-television network, based in N ...
. As of February 6–7, 2021,
Whit Johnson Whit Johnson (born June 25, 1982) is an American Journalism, journalist and co-anchor of the weekend editions of ''Good Morning America'', the anchor of the Saturday edition of ''ABC World News Tonight'', and he is also fill-in and substitute anc ...
and Linsey Davis anchor the weekend editions of the newscast, with Johnson anchoring on Saturdays and Davis anchoring on Sundays. The program has been anchored at various times by a number of other presenters since its debut in 1948. It also has used various titles, including ''ABC Evening News'' from 1970 to 1978, ''World News Tonight'' from 1978 to 2006, ''World News'' from 2006 to 2009, and ''ABC World News'' from 2009 to 2014. Since 2014, the program has been called ''ABC World News Tonight.''


History

ABC began a nightly newscast in the summer of 1948, when
H. R. Baukhage Hilmar Robert Baukhage (January 7, 1889 – January 31, 1976) was an American journalist and broadcaster. He was known to the public only as H. R. Baukhage or just Baukhage. Early life and news career Baukhage was born on January 7, 1889, in LaSal ...
and Jim Gibbons hosted '' News and Views''. This was succeeded by ''
After the Deadlines ''After The Deadlines'' was an American evening news program of the early 1950s. It was broadcast on the ABC network from April 1951 to October 1952. Typical of evening television news programs of the era, it lasted fifteen minutes. ''After the D ...
'' in 1951 and ''All Star News'' in 1952. In the fall of 1953, John Daly began anchoring the then-15-minute ''John Daly and the News''. Daly, who had served as host of the CBS game show ''
What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
'' contemporaneously, anchored the newscast until 1960, with multiple hosts and formats succeeding him. Anchors of the program during the early 1960s, sometimes for short periods, included
Alex Dreier Alexander M. Dreier (June 26, 1916 – March 11, 2000) was an American news reporter and commentator who worked with NBC Radio during the 1940s, and later with the ABC Information Radio network in the 1960s and early 1970s. Dreier then became a ...
,
John Secondari John Hermes Secondari (November 1, 1919 – February 8, 1975) was an American author and television producer. Secondari's 1952 novel ''Coins in the Fountain (novel), Coins in the Fountain'' was made into the 1954 Academy Award-winning film ''Three ...
, Fendall Winston Yerxa, Al Mann,
Bill Shadel Willard Franklin "Bill" Shadel (July 31, 1908 – January 29, 2005) was an American news anchor for CBS Radio and ABC Television. Shadel was born in Milton, Wisconsin, one of five children and the younger of two sons of Franklin Luther and I ...
, and the three-person team of
John Cameron Swayze John Cameron Swayze (April 4, 1906 – August 15, 1995) was an American news commentator and game show panelist during the 1940s and 1950s who later became best known as a product spokesman. Early life Born in Wichita, Kansas, Swayze was the ...
(formerly of NBC), Bill Lawrence, and Bill Sheehan. In 1962,
Ron Cochran Ron Cochran (September 20, 1912 – July 25, 1994) was a Canadian-born American television news journalist who worked for ABC and CBS. He served as the anchor of the ''ABC Evening News'' from 1962 to 1965. In November 1963, he served as the ...
was appointed as full-time anchor, staying with the program until 1965. After Cochran left the program,
Peter Jennings Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings (July 29, 1938August 7, 2005) was a Canadian-born American television journalist who served as the sole anchor of ''ABC World News Tonight'' from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 2005. He dropped o ...
, a Canadian journalist who was 26 years old at the time, was named anchor of the retitled ''Peter Jennings with the News''. In 1967, the inexperienced Jennings left the anchor chair and was reassigned by the news division as an international correspondent for the news program. The newly renamed ''ABC News'' was hosted, in succession, by Bob Young (October 1967 to May 1968), and then by
Frank Reynolds Frank James Reynolds (November 29, 1923 – July 20, 1983) was an American television journalist for CBS and ABC News. Reynolds was a New York–based anchor of the ''ABC Evening News'' from 1968 to 1970 and later was the Washington, D. ...
(May 1968 to December 1970), who was later joined by
Howard K. Smith Howard Kingsbury Smith (May 12, 1914 – February 15, 2002) was an American journalist, radio reporter, television anchorman, political commentator, and film actor. He was one of the original members of the team of war correspondents known as th ...
(May 1969 to December 1970). The program expanded from 15 to 30 minutes in January 1967, nearly years after both CBS and NBC had expanded their evening news programs to a half-hour.


Reasoner, Smith, and Walters

Harry Reasoner Harry Truman Reasoner (April 17, 1923 – August 6, 1991) was an American journalist for CBS and ABC News, known for his adroit use of language as a television commentator, and as a founder of the long-running ''60 Minutes'' program. Over the ...
, formerly of
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
and ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'', joined ABC News in 1970 to co-anchor the relaunched and renamed ''ABC Evening News'' with Smith, beginning that December, replacing Reynolds. The ratings increased steadily, but still remained in third place, behind dominant CBS and NBC. In 1975, Howard K. Smith was moved to a commentator role, and Reasoner briefly assumed sole-anchor responsibilities until he was paired with
Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including ...
, who became the first female network anchor when she joined the program on October 4, 1976. Ratings for the nightly news broadcast declined shortly thereafter, possibly due in part to the lack of chemistry between Reasoner and Walters. Reasoner would eventually return to CBS and ''60 Minutes'', while Walters became a regular on the newsmagazine ''
20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...
''.


"First News" strategy (1967–1982)

Even in areas with three full-time network affiliates, ABC stations often opted to broadcast the news program in the 6:00 p.m./5:00 p.m. timeslot to entice viewers by presenting the day's national and international news first, thus making it more likely that they would stay tuned to the station's local newscast immediately following the program (or one half-hour afterward), instead of turning to CBS or NBC. Starting in 1973, before the advent of
closed captioning Closed captioning (CC) and subtitling are both processes of displaying text on a television, video screen, or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information. Both are typically used as a transcription of the audio por ...
,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
began airing an open captioned version of the ''ABC Evening News'' that was distributed to various
public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
stations throughout the U.S, airing mostly in late-night timeslots five hours after the original ABC broadcast. This version was produced by
WGBH WGBH may refer to: * WGBH Educational Foundation, based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States ** WGBH (FM), a public radio station at Boston, Massachusetts on 89.7 MHz owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation ** WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), ...
, the Boston PBS station, which provided the captions and repackaged the broadcast with additional news stories – some of which were of special interest to the
hearing impaired Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spoken la ...
– as well as late-news developments, weather forecasts, and sports scores inserted in place of commercials. The practice continued until 1982, when real-time closed captioning was first introduced in the United States by the
National Captioning Institute The National Captioning Institute, Inc. (NCI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides real-time and off-line closed captioning, subtitling and translation, described video, web captioning, and Spanish captioning for television and film ...
.


''World News Tonight'' (first era)


The early years (1978–1983)

Always the perennial third in the national ratings, ABC News president
Roone Arledge Roone Pinckney Arledge Jr. (July 8, 1931 – December 5, 2002) was an American sports and news broadcasting executive who was president of ABC Sports from 1968 until 1986 and ABC News from 1977 until 1998, and a key part of the company's rise t ...
reformatted the program, relaunching it as ''World News Tonight'' in July 1978. Reynolds, who was demoted when the network hired Reasoner, returned as lead anchor, reporting from ABC News' Washington, D.C. bureau.
Max Robinson Maxie Cleveland "Max" Robinson, Jr. (May 1, 1939 – December 20, 1988) was an American broadcast journalist, most notably serving as co-anchor on ''ABC World News Tonight'' alongside Frank Reynolds and Peter Jennings from 1978 until 1983. Robi ...
– who became the first African American network news anchor upon his appointment on the program – anchored national news from the news division's Chicago bureau. Peter Jennings, who also returned for a second stint, reported international headlines from the division's London bureau. Occasional contributions included special reports by Walters, who was credited as anchor of the special coverage desk from New York City and worldwide, and commentary by Smith, who was easing into eventual retirement. The program's distinct and easily identifiable theme (whose four-note musical signature was eventually used on other ABC News programs) was written by Bob Israel. Ratings slowly climbed to the point where ''World News Tonight'' eventually beat both ''
NBC Nightly News ''NBC Nightly News'' (titled as ''NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt'' for its weeknight broadcasts since June 22, 2015) is the flagship daily evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NB ...
'' and the ''
CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature s ...
'', marking the first time ever that ABC had the most-watched network evening newscast.


Peter Jennings's second solo tenure (1983–2005)

In April 1983, Reynolds became ill, leaving both Jennings and Robinson to co-anchor the broadcast until his planned return; however, Reynolds would die three months later on July 20, 1983, from
bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thyro ...
. A rotation of anchors hosted the program until August 9, 1983, when ABC announced that Jennings became the sole anchor and senior editor of ''World News Tonight'', which took effect September 5, and on that day, the program began broadcasting from New York City on a regular basis. Bill Owen would replace Bill Rice as announcer for a year. In September 1984, the program was renamed ''World News Tonight with Peter Jennings'' to reflect its sole anchor and senior editor. Robinson left ABC News in 1984, after stints of anchoring news briefs and the weekend editions of ''World News Tonight''; he died from complications of AIDS in 1988. With Jennings as lead anchor, ''World News Tonight'' was the most-watched national newscast from February 27, 1989, to November 1, 1996, but from then on until February 2007, it placed second behind its main rival, ''NBC Nightly News''. In April 2005, Jennings announced that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer and, as before, other ABC News anchors – mostly consisting of ''20/20'' co-anchor
Elizabeth Vargas Elizabeth Anne Vargas (born September 6, 1962) is an American television journalist who is the lead investigative reporter/documentary anchor for A&E Networks, and the host for Fox's revival of '' America's Most Wanted''. She began her new positi ...
and ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'' co-anchor
Charles Gibson Charles deWolf Gibson (born March 9, 1943) is an American broadcast television anchor, journalist and podcaster. Gibson was a host of ''Good Morning America'' from 1987 to 1998 and again from 1999 to 2006, and the anchor of ''World News with Char ...
– filled in for him. Jennings died of lung cancer on August 7, 2005, at his apartment in New York City, at age 67. The August 8, 2005, edition of the program was dedicated in memory of Jennings and looked back at his four-decade career in news. His death ended the era of the so-called "Big Three" anchors: Jennings, NBC's
Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...
, and CBS's
Dan Rather Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. Rather began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurr ...
(the latter two had retired from their positions as the respective anchors of ''NBC Nightly News'' and the ''CBS Evening News'' within the year prior to Jennings's death). During his career, Jennings had reported from every major world capital and war zone, and from all 50 U.S. states, according to the network. Jennings was known for his ability to calmly portray events as they were happening and for his coverage of many major world events such as the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
and the dawn of the new millennium. As a tribute to its late anchor, ABC continued to introduce the broadcast as ''World News Tonight with Peter Jennings'' in the week following his death. Gibson anchored the broadcast the first part of the week, playing a slow arrangement of the traditional theme music in memory of Jennings;
Bob Woodruff Robert Warren Woodruff (born August 18, 1961) is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was ...
anchored the final edition of ''World News Tonight with Peter Jennings'' on August 12, 2005. That night's broadcast ended with one of Jennings's favorite pieces of music instead of the traditional theme music. Beginning on August 15, 2005, the broadcast was introduced simply as ''World News Tonight'' and it remained that way until January 2006.


Bob Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas (January–May 2006)

The program would return to a two-anchor format, when in early December 2005, ABC News announced that Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff would be the new permanent co-anchors of ''World News Tonight'', replacing Jennings. People in the news industry looked at the choice of Vargas and Woodruff by ABC News as the start of a new era in network television news. The broadcast was produced live three times per day – the regular live broadcast for the Eastern and Central Time Zones, plus separate broadcasts for the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones. In addition, a live
webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...
, ''World News Now'' (which, incidentally, carried the same title as ABC's overnight news program), with a newsbrief and a preview of that evening's broadcast, was launched. The webcast aired live at 3:00 pm. Eastern Time on
ABC News Now ABC News Live (a.k.a. ABCNL) is an American streaming video news channel for breaking news, live events, newscasts, and longer-form reports and documentaries operated by ABC News since 2018. The channel is available through various streaming d ...
and ABCNews.com, and could be viewed throughout the rest of the day after 4:00 pm. Eastern Time. On January 29, 2006, Woodruff and his cameraman,
Doug Vogt Doug Vogt (; born 1959) is a Canadians, Canadian photojournalist and cameraman. He was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. He lived 25 years in Europe and presently lives in Los Angeles, United States. Education Doug Vogt studied Broadcast Jour ...
, were injured by a road-side
bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...
while riding in an Iraqi military convoy. Both underwent surgery at a U.S. military hospital in
Balad, Iraq Balad ( ar, بلد), also transliterated ''Beled'' or ''Belad'', is a city in Saladin Governorate, Iraq, north of the national capital, Baghdad. It is the capital of Balad District. Located between the towns of Al Dhuluiya, Yathrib and Ishaqi, B ...
( north of
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
). Both men incurred head injuries in the incident, even though they were both wearing body armor and helmets. Woodruff and Vogt were then evacuated to a U.S. military hospital in Germany, before later being transferred to
Bethesda Naval Hospital The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center and colloquially referred to as the Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med, is a United States' tri-service military medi ...
in
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
for further treatment and released for outpatient treatment. Within a few months after Woodruff's accident, ABC News announced that Vargas was pregnant and due to give birth to her second child in late summer. For about a month, ''Good Morning America'' co-hosts Charles Gibson and
Diane Sawyer Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', '' Good Morning America'', ''20/20'', and '' Primetime'' newsmag ...
had alternated co-anchoring the newscast with Vargas. During the spring of 2006, Vargas mostly anchored the broadcast alone, becoming the first ''de facto'' solo female evening news anchor. At the time, it was unknown what ABC News planned to do until Woodruff returned to the anchor chair, which appeared not to be within the near future, and when Vargas began her maternity leave. Rumors flew that Sawyer wanted to become the sole anchor of ''World News Tonight'' to beat
Katie Couric Katherine Anne Couric ( ; born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, ''Wake Up Call''. From 2013 to 2017, ...
's switch to the anchor chair at the ''CBS Evening News''. However, ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' columnist
Cindy Adams Cynthia "Cindy" Adams (née Heller) is an American gossip columnist and writer. She is the widow of comedian/humorist Joey Adams. Early life and education Adams was an only child raised by her mother after her parents divorced. Marriage to J ...
reported that Gibson would become Woodruff's "temporary permanent replacement". Also starting in the spring of 2006, the West Coast editions of ''World News Tonight'' were scaled back because Vargas anchored the broadcast on her own at the time.


''World News''


Charles Gibson (2006–2009)

In May 2006, Vargas announced her resignation from ''World News Tonight''. Charles Gibson was then named sole anchor of the program, effectively replacing Vargas and her injured co-anchor Woodruff. Vargas cited her doctors' recommendation to cut back her schedule considerably because of her maternity leave, and her wish to spend more time with her new baby. She has since returned to co-anchor ''20/20'' and ABC News specials, and has served as a substitute anchor on ''World News Tonight'' under Gibson and his successors. Woodruff, although still recovering from his injuries, returned to ''World News Tonight'' as a correspondent on February 28, 2007. Some media analysts found the reasons for the appointment of Gibson as anchor to be merely a cover for ABC News's real intentions to bring stability to its flagship news program, which had seen its ratings slip, and to attract some older viewers away from the ''CBS Evening News'' with interim anchor
Bob Schieffer Bob Lloyd Schieffer (born February 25, 1937) is an American television journalist. He is known for his moderation of presidential debates, where he has been praised for his capability. Schieffer is one of the few journalists to have covered all f ...
. Indeed, the advertising campaign focused on Gibson's experience, calling him "Your Trusted Source," similar to a campaign for Jennings, "Trust Is Earned," in the wake of the
Killian documents controversy The Killian documents controversy (also referred to as Memogate or Rathergate) involved six documents containing false allegations about President George W. Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard in 1972–73, allegedly typed in 1973. D ...
at CBS and
Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American retired journalist and television news anchor. He was a reporter for ''NBC Nightly News'' starting in 1993, before his promotion to anchor and managing editor of the broadcast in 2004. ...
's assumption of the NBC anchor chair. On July 19, 2006, ABC News announced that ''World News Tonight'' would have its name officially changed to ''World News with Charles Gibson''. The network chose to make the, albeit minor, change to remove "Tonight" from the title to reflect the program's expansion into the "24-hour space created by the digital world". In the February 2007 sweeps, ''World News with Charles Gibson'' achieved the number-one spot in the
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
among the network evening news broadcasts, overtaking ''NBC Nightly News'', marking ABC News' first victory since the week Jennings died in August 2005. ''World News with Charles Gibson'' won the May 2007 sweeps period decisively over ''NBC Nightly News'', marking Gibson's second consecutive sweeps win and widening the program's lead in the evening news race. It was the first time that ''World News'' had won consecutive sweeps periods since 1996, the year ABC News ceded the ratings crown to ''NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw''. ''NBC Nightly News'' retook first place in the November 2007 sweeps and the two programs remained in a tight race until the fall of 2008, when the NBC program established a consistent lead. On August 25, 2008, ''World News'' became the fourth and final network evening newscast to begin broadcasting in HD. On September 2, 2009, ABC News announced that Gibson would retire from ABC News altogether on December 18, 2009, and that Sawyer would assume the anchor desk on December 21, 2009. Gibson's final broadcast ended with a video tribute that included all of the living former U.S. Presidents, former ABC anchors, actors and actresses, singers, comedians,
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...
,
Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...
, athletes, the commander of the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
, competitors Couric and Williams, and was capped off by U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
.


Diane Sawyer (2009–2014)

Long-time ABC journalist and anchorwoman
Diane Sawyer Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', '' Good Morning America'', ''20/20'', and '' Primetime'' newsmag ...
(whom previously co-anchored ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'' with predecessor Gibson) began anchoring the broadcast, which amended its title to ''ABC World News'', on December 21, 2009. On that date, the program debuted an updated set, new graphics during the introductory segment, along with a new announcer,
Mike Rowe Michael Gregory Rowe (born March 18, 1962) is an American television host and narrator. He is known for his work on the Discovery Channel series ''Dirty Jobs'' and the series ''Somebody's Gotta Do It'' originally developed for CNN. He hosted a s ...
(then host of
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
's ''
Dirty Jobs ''Dirty Jobs'' is an American television series that originally aired on the Discovery Channel in which host Mike Rowe is shown performing difficult, strange, disgusting, or messy occupational duties alongside the job's current employees. The sh ...
''), who replaced longtime announcer Bill Rice. A new set for the program debuted on August 23, 2010. Substitute anchors for the program during Sawyer's tenure when she was away or on assignment, in addition to Vargas, included David Muir (who by that point, anchored the weekend editions of ''World News'' and served as a weekday correspondent),
George Stephanopoulos George Robert Stephanopoulos ( el, Γεώργιος Στεφανόπουλος ; born February 10, 1961) is an American television host, political commentator, and former Democratic advisor. Stephanopoulos currently is a coanchor with Robin Robe ...
,
Cynthia McFadden Cynthia McFadden (born May 27, 1956) is an American television journalist who is currently the senior legal and investigative correspondent for NBC News. She was an anchor and correspondent for ABC News who co-anchored '' Nightline'', and occasio ...
, Dan Harris,
Paula Faris Paula Faris (born October 26, 1975) is an American journalist and television correspondent, formerly of ABC News. She is known for her tenure as co-anchor of ''Good Morning America Weekend'' from 2014 to 2018 and as co-host of '' The View'' from 2 ...
and
Byron Pitts Byron Pitts (born October 21, 1960) is an American journalist and author, working for ABC News as co-anchor for the network's late night news program, ''Nightline''. Until March 2013, he served as a chief national correspondent for '' The CBS Eve ...
(with the exception of McFadden, who left ABC News in August 2014, most of these anchors/correspondents have also served as substitutes following Muir's appointment as anchor of the program). The Sawyer tenure was marked by a shift towards more " news you can use" features, and less of a focus on hard international news. ''World News'' at the time had a 60% female viewership, the highest of the three major network evening newscasts. On October 1, 2012, ''World News'' debuted a new logo, opening theme (which was composed by
Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...
, replacing the longtime Bob Israel-composed theme), an updated set and new graphics package. The program also introduced a segment called the "Instant Index", a feature appearing as the penultimate segment of each night's broadcast focusing on news stories that are trending on social media,
pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...
and entertainment-related stories and
viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...
s. Another feature introduced during Sawyer's tenure was "Made in America", a feature segment reported by David Muir, chronicling enterprising American companies. On June 25, 2014, ABC News announced that Sawyer would step down as the weekday anchor of ''ABC World News''; Sawyer would be succeeded by the program's then weekend anchor, David Muir, effective September 2. On July 28, 2014, the program debuted a slightly updated set, which includes a new, larger monitor behind the anchor desk. Diane Sawyer ultimately decided to end her tenure as anchor of ''ABC World News'' nearly a week before Muir began as anchor of the weeknight editions on August 27, 2014, to spend time with family. By the time Sawyer left ''World News'', the program was the No. 1 network evening newscast in all major key demographics and significantly closed the ratings gap with ''NBC Nightly News'' in total viewership.


''World News Tonight'' (second era)


David Muir (2014–present)

David Muir became the weekday anchor and managing editor of the program on September 1, 2014, while retaining his duties as co-anchor of ''20/20''. At the same time, ''Good Morning America'' co-host
George Stephanopoulos George Robert Stephanopoulos ( el, Γεώργιος Στεφανόπουλος ; born February 10, 1961) is an American television host, political commentator, and former Democratic advisor. Stephanopoulos currently is a coanchor with Robin Robe ...
assumed the news division's Chief Anchor position that had traditionally been assigned to the anchor of ''World News''. Following the departure of Diane Sawyer, the title of the program was also silently rebranded back to ''World News Tonight'' for the first time since 2006, albeit with "ABC" attached to the title. Primary substitutes are Stephanopoulos,
Rebecca Jarvis Rebecca Ann Jarvis (born September 28, 1981) is an American journalist and investment banker. She is the chief business, economics, and technology correspondent for ABC News, the host, creator, and managing editor of ''Real Biz with Rebecca Jarvi ...
, and
Amy Robach Amy Joanne Robach (born February 6, 1973) is an American television reporter for ABC News. She is the co-anchor of ''20/20'' and the breaking news anchor/fill-in anchor for '' Good Morning America''. She was a national correspondent for NBC N ...
. ''World News Tonight'' has broadcast from San Bernardino, Orlando, Paris, and Brussels after terrorist attacks, and from Dallas after five policemen were shot dead in July 2016. In November 2016, ''World News Tonight'' was the most-watched network primetime newscast for the first time in 18 years. The last time ''World News'' held the top spot was during the 1998–99 season when Peter Jennings sat at the anchor's desk, according to Nielsen. ''World News Tonight'' was the most-watched network evening newscast for the week of March 30, 2015. This marked the first time in seven years that the program finished at No. 1, beating out ''NBC Nightly News'' in all categories. On August 10, 2020, '' World News Tonight'' marked 11 consecutive weeks as "America's Most-Watched Show". On September 8, 2020, ''World News Tonight'' debuted a new title card, reintroduced the long-time Bob Israel-composed opening theme (replacing the Hans Zimmer theme), and revealed an updated set and new graphics package.


Anchors


Weekdays

*
H. R. Baukhage Hilmar Robert Baukhage (January 7, 1889 – January 31, 1976) was an American journalist and broadcaster. He was known to the public only as H. R. Baukhage or just Baukhage. Early life and news career Baukhage was born on January 7, 1889, in LaSal ...
and Jim Gibbons ('' News and Views'', August 11, 1948 March 30, 1951) * Unknown (''
After the Deadlines ''After The Deadlines'' was an American evening news program of the early 1950s. It was broadcast on the ABC network from April 1951 to October 1952. Typical of evening television news programs of the era, it lasted fifteen minutes. ''After the D ...
'', April 2, 1951 October 3, 1952) *
Bryson Rash Bryson Brennan Rash (August 18, 1913November 12, 1992) was an American journalist who reported on radio and television for CBS, NBC, and ABC affiliates. He was ABC's White House correspondent from 1942 through 1956, thereafter reporting from ...
,
Pauline Frederick Pauline Frederick (born Pauline Beatrice Libbey, August 12, 1883 – September 19, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. Early life Frederick was born Pauline Beatrice Libbey (later changed to Libby) in Boston in 1883 (some sources stat ...
, Gordon Fraser and
Leo Cherne Leo M. Cherne (1912–1999) was an American economist, public servant, and four-decade head of the International Rescue Committee. Background Leo M. Cherne was born on September 8, 1912, in The Bronx. His father, Max Cherne, was a Romanian-J ...
(''All-Star News'', October 6, 1952 January 2, 1953 – primetime news, one hour Mondays and Wednesdays, half hour other nights) * ABC network had no evening news broadcast Monday through Friday (January 5, 1953 October 9, 1953) * John Daly (''John Daly and the News'', October 12, 1953 September 12, 1958) *
Don Goddard Don Goddard (July 5, 1904—March 20, 1994) was a radio and television announcer and newscaster who later became known for his work with geriatric alcoholism and other addictions. Goddard was born July 5, 1904 in Binghamton, New York. He attended ...
(''ABC News'', September 15, 1958 May 8, 1959, at 7:15–7:30 (
Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...
and
Pacific Time The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00). ...
), followed three hours later by ''John Daly and the News'' at 10:30–10:45 (Eastern and Pacific)) * John Daly (''John Daly and the News'', May 11, 1959 December 16, 1960) *
Bill Shadel Willard Franklin "Bill" Shadel (July 31, 1908 – January 29, 2005) was an American news anchor for CBS Radio and ABC Television. Shadel was born in Milton, Wisconsin, one of five children and the younger of two sons of Franklin Luther and I ...
(''ABC Evening Report'', December 19, 1960 September 22, 1961) * Bill Lawrence,
Al Mann Alfred E. Mann (1925 – February 25, 2016), also known as Al Mann, was an American physicist, inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Early life and education Mann was born and raised to a Jewish family in Portland, Oregon. His father was a ...
and
John Cameron Swayze John Cameron Swayze (April 4, 1906 – August 15, 1995) was an American news commentator and game show panelist during the 1940s and 1950s who later became best known as a product spokesman. Early life Born in Wichita, Kansas, Swayze was the ...
(''ABC Evening Report'', September 25, 1961 March 23, 1962, at 6 or 7, followed four or five hours later by 10-minute ''ABC News Final'' with
Ron Cochran Ron Cochran (September 20, 1912 – July 25, 1994) was a Canadian-born American television news journalist who worked for ABC and CBS. He served as the anchor of the ''ABC Evening News'' from 1962 to 1965. In November 1963, he served as the ...
) *
Ron Cochran Ron Cochran (September 20, 1912 – July 25, 1994) was a Canadian-born American television news journalist who worked for ABC and CBS. He served as the anchor of the ''ABC Evening News'' from 1962 to 1965. In November 1963, he served as the ...
(''ABC Evening Report'', March 26, 1962 January 29, 1965) also anchorman for 10-minute news at 11pm until March 29, 1963; followed on the late news by Murphy Martin (April 2, 1963 January 3, 1964) and Bob Young (January 6, 1964 January 8, 1965) *
Peter Jennings Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings (July 29, 1938August 7, 2005) was a Canadian-born American television journalist who served as the sole anchor of ''ABC World News Tonight'' from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 2005. He dropped o ...
(''Peter Jennings with the News'', February 1, 1965 October 13, 1967 – program expanded to half-hour as ''ABC News'' on January 9, 1967) * Bob Young (''ABC News'', October 16, 1967 May 24, 1968) *
Frank Reynolds Frank James Reynolds (November 29, 1923 – July 20, 1983) was an American television journalist for CBS and ABC News. Reynolds was a New York–based anchor of the ''ABC Evening News'' from 1968 to 1970 and later was the Washington, D. ...
(''ABC News'', May 27, 1968 May 16, 1969) *
Frank Reynolds Frank James Reynolds (November 29, 1923 – July 20, 1983) was an American television journalist for CBS and ABC News. Reynolds was a New York–based anchor of the ''ABC Evening News'' from 1968 to 1970 and later was the Washington, D. ...
and
Howard K. Smith Howard Kingsbury Smith (May 12, 1914 – February 15, 2002) was an American journalist, radio reporter, television anchorman, political commentator, and film actor. He was one of the original members of the team of war correspondents known as th ...
(''ABC News'', May 19, 1969 December 4, 1970) *
Howard K. Smith Howard Kingsbury Smith (May 12, 1914 – February 15, 2002) was an American journalist, radio reporter, television anchorman, political commentator, and film actor. He was one of the original members of the team of war correspondents known as th ...
and
Harry Reasoner Harry Truman Reasoner (April 17, 1923 – August 6, 1991) was an American journalist for CBS and ABC News, known for his adroit use of language as a television commentator, and as a founder of the long-running ''60 Minutes'' program. Over the ...
(''ABC Evening News'', December 7, 1970 September 5, 1975) *
Harry Reasoner Harry Truman Reasoner (April 17, 1923 – August 6, 1991) was an American journalist for CBS and ABC News, known for his adroit use of language as a television commentator, and as a founder of the long-running ''60 Minutes'' program. Over the ...
(''ABC Evening News'', September 8, 1975 October 1, 1976) *
Harry Reasoner Harry Truman Reasoner (April 17, 1923 – August 6, 1991) was an American journalist for CBS and ABC News, known for his adroit use of language as a television commentator, and as a founder of the long-running ''60 Minutes'' program. Over the ...
and
Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including ...
(''ABC Evening News'', October 4, 1976 July 7, 1978) *
Frank Reynolds Frank James Reynolds (November 29, 1923 – July 20, 1983) was an American television journalist for CBS and ABC News. Reynolds was a New York–based anchor of the ''ABC Evening News'' from 1968 to 1970 and later was the Washington, D. ...
,
Max Robinson Maxie Cleveland "Max" Robinson, Jr. (May 1, 1939 – December 20, 1988) was an American broadcast journalist, most notably serving as co-anchor on ''ABC World News Tonight'' alongside Frank Reynolds and Peter Jennings from 1978 until 1983. Robi ...
and
Peter Jennings Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings (July 29, 1938August 7, 2005) was a Canadian-born American television journalist who served as the sole anchor of ''ABC World News Tonight'' from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 2005. He dropped o ...
(''World News Tonight'', July 10, 1978 April 20, 1983) *
Max Robinson Maxie Cleveland "Max" Robinson, Jr. (May 1, 1939 – December 20, 1988) was an American broadcast journalist, most notably serving as co-anchor on ''ABC World News Tonight'' alongside Frank Reynolds and Peter Jennings from 1978 until 1983. Robi ...
and
Peter Jennings Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings (July 29, 1938August 7, 2005) was a Canadian-born American television journalist who served as the sole anchor of ''ABC World News Tonight'' from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 2005. He dropped o ...
(''World News Tonight'', April 23, 1983 August 8, 1983) *
Peter Jennings Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings (July 29, 1938August 7, 2005) was a Canadian-born American television journalist who served as the sole anchor of ''ABC World News Tonight'' from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 2005. He dropped o ...
(''World News Tonight with Peter Jennings'', August 9, 1983 April 5, 2005) * Interim anchors
Charles Gibson Charles deWolf Gibson (born March 9, 1943) is an American broadcast television anchor, journalist and podcaster. Gibson was a host of ''Good Morning America'' from 1987 to 1998 and again from 1999 to 2006, and the anchor of ''World News with Char ...
,
Elizabeth Vargas Elizabeth Anne Vargas (born September 6, 1962) is an American television journalist who is the lead investigative reporter/documentary anchor for A&E Networks, and the host for Fox's revival of '' America's Most Wanted''. She began her new positi ...
and
Bob Woodruff Robert Warren Woodruff (born August 18, 1961) is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was ...
(''World News Tonight with Peter Jennings'', April 6, 2005 August 12, 2005; ''World News Tonight'', August 15, 2005 January 2, 2006) *
Bob Woodruff Robert Warren Woodruff (born August 18, 1961) is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was ...
and
Elizabeth Vargas Elizabeth Anne Vargas (born September 6, 1962) is an American television journalist who is the lead investigative reporter/documentary anchor for A&E Networks, and the host for Fox's revival of '' America's Most Wanted''. She began her new positi ...
(''World News Tonight with Bob Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas'', January 3 May 26, 2006) *
Charles Gibson Charles deWolf Gibson (born March 9, 1943) is an American broadcast television anchor, journalist and podcaster. Gibson was a host of ''Good Morning America'' from 1987 to 1998 and again from 1999 to 2006, and the anchor of ''World News with Char ...
(''World News with Charles Gibson'', May 29, 2006 December 18, 2009) *
Diane Sawyer Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', '' Good Morning America'', ''20/20'', and '' Primetime'' newsmag ...
(''ABC World News with Diane Sawyer'', December 21, 2009 – August 27, 2014) *
David Muir David Jason Muir (born November 8, 1973) is an American journalist and the anchor of ''ABC World News Tonight'' and co-anchor of the ABC News magazine '' 20/20'', part of the news department of the ABC broadcast-television network, based in N ...
(''ABC World News Tonight with David Muir'', since September 1, 2014)


Weekends

*
Ted Koppel Edward James Martin Koppel (born February 8, 1940) is a British-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for '' Nightline'', from the program's inception in 1980 until 2005. Before ''Nightline'', he spent 20 years as a broad ...
(Saturday edition, 1975–1977) *
Tom Jarriel Thomas Edwin Jarriel (pronounced "Jair-ell," with a silent "i"; born December 29, 1934) is a retired American television news reporter who worked for the ABC network from 1964 to 2002. Jarriel's parents were the late William Lester Jarriel, Sr. ...
and Sylvia Chase (Saturday edition, 1977–1979) *
Sam Donaldson Samuel Andrew Donaldson Jr. (born March 11, 1934) is an American former reporter and news anchor, serving with ABC News from 1967 to 2009. He is best known as the network's White House Correspondent (1977–1989 and 1998–99) and as a panelist ...
(Sunday edition, 1979–1989) *
Kathleen Sullivan Kathleen Sullivan may refer to: * Kathleen Sullivan (lawyer) (born 1955), American lawyer and former dean of Stanford Law School * Kathleen Sullivan (journalist) (born 1953), American television journalist * Kathleen Sullivan Alioto Kathleen Sul ...
(Saturday edition, 1985–1987) *
Barry Serafin Barry Serafin (born June 22, 1941) is an American television journalist and former weekend anchor of ABC World News. An Oregon native, born in Coquille, and raised in Roseburg, Serafin graduated from Washington State University in 1964, and be ...
(Saturday edition, 1987–1988) *
Carole Simpson Carole Simpson (born December 7, 1940) is an American broadcast journalist, news anchor, and author. She is the first African-American woman to anchor a major United States network newscast. Education and career Simpson, a graduate of the Un ...
(Saturday edition, 1988–1993; Sunday edition, 1993–2003) *
Forrest Sawyer Forrest Sawyer (born April 19, 1949) is an American broadcast journalist. Sawyer worked 11 years with ABC News, where he frequently anchored ''ABC World News Tonight'' and ''Nightline'' and reported for all ABC News broadcasts. He anchored the new ...
(Sunday edition, 1989–1993) * Aaron Brown (Saturday edition, 1993–1997) *
Elizabeth Vargas Elizabeth Anne Vargas (born September 6, 1962) is an American television journalist who is the lead investigative reporter/documentary anchor for A&E Networks, and the host for Fox's revival of '' America's Most Wanted''. She began her new positi ...
(Saturday edition, 1997–2003; Sunday edition, 2003–2004) *
Terry Moran Terry Moran is an American journalist, currently Senior National Correspondent at ABC News. Based in Washington, D.C., Moran covers national politics and policy, reporting from the Trump White House, the Supreme Court, and the campaign trail fo ...
(Saturday edition, 2004–2005) *
Bob Woodruff Robert Warren Woodruff (born August 18, 1961) is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was ...
(Sunday edition, 2004–2005) * Jim Avila (Saturday edition, 2006–2007) * Dan Harris (Sunday edition, 2006–2011) *
David Muir David Jason Muir (born November 8, 1973) is an American journalist and the anchor of ''ABC World News Tonight'' and co-anchor of the ABC News magazine '' 20/20'', part of the news department of the ABC broadcast-television network, based in N ...
(Saturday edition, 2007–2011; weekends, 2011–2014) *
Cecilia Vega Cecilia Marcellina Vega (born January 7, 1977) is an American journalist, currently serving as host for Good Morning America, Good Morning America. She joined the network in 2011 as a Los Angeles-based correspondent. Prior to her White House as ...
(Saturday edition, 2015–2017) *
Tom Llamas Thomas Edward Llamas ( ; born July 2, 1979) is an American journalist who was the weekend anchor for '' World News Tonight'' on ABC from 2014 to 2021. Afterward, he left ABC News for rival NBC News, with his last ABC broadcast being on January 3 ...
(Sunday edition, 2015–2017; weekends, 2017–2021, Now at
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
) *
Whit Johnson Whit Johnson (born June 25, 1982) is an American Journalism, journalist and co-anchor of the weekend editions of ''Good Morning America'', the anchor of the Saturday edition of ''ABC World News Tonight'', and he is also fill-in and substitute anc ...
(Saturday edition, 2021–present) * Linsey Davis (Sunday edition, 2021–present)


Weekend newscasts

ABC first attempted an early evening weekend newscast in July 1975, when it debuted a Saturday bulletin that was anchored by
Ted Koppel Edward James Martin Koppel (born February 8, 1940) is a British-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for '' Nightline'', from the program's inception in 1980 until 2005. Before ''Nightline'', he spent 20 years as a broad ...
and taken over by
Tom Jarriel Thomas Edwin Jarriel (pronounced "Jair-ell," with a silent "i"; born December 29, 1934) is a retired American television news reporter who worked for the ABC network from 1964 to 2002. Jarriel's parents were the late William Lester Jarriel, Sr. ...
and
Sylvia Chase Sylvia Belle Chase (February 23, 1938 – January 3, 2019) was an American broadcast journalist. She was a correspondent for ABC's '' 20/20'' from its inception until 1985, when she left to become a news anchor at KRON-TV in San Francisco; in 19 ...
in 1977. The broadcast, however, was not carried by many stations, and was cancelled in January 1979. Following the Saturday news cancellation, and after the flagship weeknight broadcast became ''World News Tonight'', the program premiered ''World News Sunday'' on January 28, 1979, and expanded to a full seven days with the restoration of a Saturday newscast (''World News Saturday'') on January 5, 1985, years after NBC and CBS had each launched their own weekend evening news programs. These editions added the word "Tonight" to the program title in the mid-1990s, further unifying it with the weekday editions, and in the mid-2000s, their respective names were shortened uniformly to ''World News Tonight'' to correspond with those broadcasts. However, the original names were restored on July 19, 2006, concurrent with the retitling of the weekday broadcasts, but the opening title sequence displayed the name as ''World News'' for both the Saturday and Sunday editions. Prior to 1975, the only network newscasts that ABC stations broadcast on weekends were 15-minute late-night updates on Saturdays and Sundays, known as ''ABC Weekend News'' and later, ''ABC News Weekend Report''. The programs were fed to affiliates at 11:00pm Eastern/10:00pm Central and were seen in tandem with the stations' own late newscasts, although some stations opted to tape-delay the network updates until immediately before their regular
sign-off A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonwealth countries exce ...
time (rival CBS also offered a 15-minute Sunday night bulletin during the 1970s until 1997). Because of declining affiliate interest (in part because of the proliferation of 24-hour cable news channels such as
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
) and low viewership, ABC discontinued the late-night weekend reports in September 1991. In addition, starting in 1973, weeknight co-anchor Harry Reasoner hosted ''The Reasoner Report'', a half-hour topical analysis of important stories (especially breaking developments in the
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
) in the vein of CBS's ''60 Minutes'', which Reasoner himself co-moderated at two different times. Affiliates usually carried the program on Saturday evenings in the time slots where the main newscast aired on weeknights. The program, which had affiliate clearance problems and was thus unsuccessful in terms of ratings, ended in 1975, replaced by the network's inaugural Saturday newscast (see above). Some former anchors of the weekend news broadcasts include
Sam Donaldson Samuel Andrew Donaldson Jr. (born March 11, 1934) is an American former reporter and news anchor, serving with ABC News from 1967 to 2009. He is best known as the network's White House Correspondent (1977–1989 and 1998–99) and as a panelist ...
(Sunday edition, 1979–1989),
Kathleen Sullivan Kathleen Sullivan may refer to: * Kathleen Sullivan (lawyer) (born 1955), American lawyer and former dean of Stanford Law School * Kathleen Sullivan (journalist) (born 1953), American television journalist * Kathleen Sullivan Alioto Kathleen Sul ...
(Saturday edition, 1985–1987),
Barry Serafin Barry Serafin (born June 22, 1941) is an American television journalist and former weekend anchor of ABC World News. An Oregon native, born in Coquille, and raised in Roseburg, Serafin graduated from Washington State University in 1964, and be ...
(Saturday edition, 1987–1988),
Forrest Sawyer Forrest Sawyer (born April 19, 1949) is an American broadcast journalist. Sawyer worked 11 years with ABC News, where he frequently anchored ''ABC World News Tonight'' and ''Nightline'' and reported for all ABC News broadcasts. He anchored the new ...
(Sunday edition, 1989–1993),
Carole Simpson Carole Simpson (born December 7, 1940) is an American broadcast journalist, news anchor, and author. She is the first African-American woman to anchor a major United States network newscast. Education and career Simpson, a graduate of the Un ...
(Saturday edition, 1988–1993; Sunday edition, 1993–2003),
Elizabeth Vargas Elizabeth Anne Vargas (born September 6, 1962) is an American television journalist who is the lead investigative reporter/documentary anchor for A&E Networks, and the host for Fox's revival of '' America's Most Wanted''. She began her new positi ...
(Saturday edition, 1997–2003; Sunday edition, 2003–2004), Jim Avila (Saturday edition, 2006–2007),
Terry Moran Terry Moran is an American journalist, currently Senior National Correspondent at ABC News. Based in Washington, D.C., Moran covers national politics and policy, reporting from the Trump White House, the Supreme Court, and the campaign trail fo ...
(Saturday edition, 2004–2005),
Bob Woodruff Robert Warren Woodruff (born August 18, 1961) is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was ...
(Sunday edition, 2004–2005), Dan Harris (Sunday edition, 2006–2011) and
David Muir David Jason Muir (born November 8, 1973) is an American journalist and the anchor of ''ABC World News Tonight'' and co-anchor of the ABC News magazine '' 20/20'', part of the news department of the ABC broadcast-television network, based in N ...
(Saturday edition, 2007–2011; Saturday and Sunday editions, 2011–2014). Muir, who had taken over ''World News Saturday'' in 2007, took over the Sunday broadcast in 2011, ending the practice of using separate anchors for the Saturday and Sunday editions of the program, with ABC renaming both broadcasts as ''ABC World News with David Muir'' as a result. David Muir anchored the weekend program until he took over the weekday broadcast in September 2014. The program returned to using separate anchors for the weekend broadcasts afterward, with
Cecilia Vega Cecilia Marcellina Vega (born January 7, 1977) is an American journalist, currently serving as host for Good Morning America, Good Morning America. She joined the network in 2011 as a Los Angeles-based correspondent. Prior to her White House as ...
being named anchor of the Saturday broadcast and
Tom Llamas Thomas Edward Llamas ( ; born July 2, 1979) is an American journalist who was the weekend anchor for '' World News Tonight'' on ABC from 2014 to 2021. Afterward, he left ABC News for rival NBC News, with his last ABC broadcast being on January 3 ...
named anchor of the Sunday edition in February 2015. After Vega was named senior White House correspondent, Llamas was named sole weekend anchor in January 2017, as the practice of using separate anchors for the Saturday and Sunday editions ended once again. Llamas subsequently left in January 2021, to join
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
. In February 2021,
Whit Johnson Whit Johnson (born June 25, 1982) is an American Journalism, journalist and co-anchor of the weekend editions of ''Good Morning America'', the anchor of the Saturday edition of ''ABC World News Tonight'', and he is also fill-in and substitute anc ...
and Linsey Davis were announced as anchors of the weekend edition, with Johnson anchoring on Saturday and Davis anchoring on Sunday. Some ABC affiliates air the Saturday and Sunday editions of ''World News Tonight'' at 6:00p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time (5:00p.m. Central and Mountain)one half-hour earlier than the weekday broadcasts. The weekend editions of ''World News Tonight'' may periodically be abbreviated or preempted outright due to sports telecasts that overrun into its
timeslot Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically radio and television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or season-long schedule. Modern broadcasters use broadcast automation ...
or occasionally air immediately following the program (the latter preemption situation commonly affects stations in the Pacific and Mountain Time Zones); this is particularly common during fall, as the Saturday broadcast does not air at all from September through mid December due to ABC's college football coverage and during the winter and spring, when the Sunday broadcast is sometimes delayed or preempted due to overruns of the network's NBA telecasts.


International newscasts

ABC News programs, including ''ABC World News Tonight'', are shown for several hours a day on the 24-hour news network
OSN News OSN News is a 24-hour satellite channel offering exclusively American news programming from NBC, and MSNBC to U.S. expatriates, primarily geared towards an audience in the Arab countries. The channel is available on OSN Network in Middle East ...
in
MENA MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...
Region. In the United Kingdom, the program was shown Tuesday through Fridays at 1:30 a.m. on
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
, a channel that is frequently
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
by
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
at this time, meaning the program was broadcast on analogue terrestrial television in many parts of that country until the digital transition. The newscast was aired on a delay, in part because of the need to remove commercial advertisements, as the BBC's domestic channels operate as commercial-free services via a television license fee, replacing them with promotions for different BBC News special programs. The program was replaced by ''
Asia Business Report ''Asia Business Report'' is a business news programme produced by the BBC and is shown on BBC World News during the Asian morning hours. This programme used to be available exclusively in Asia-Pacific, South Asia and Middle East but, as of a 1 ...
'' and ''
Sport Today ''Sport Today'' is a sports news programme produced by the BBC and is shown on BBC World News. It is broadcast up to 12 times daily from Monday-Thursday, 11 times daily on Friday and twice daily at the weekend. The programme provides the news, re ...
'' on June 14, 2011, but later returned to the channel on August 20, 2012. It was also available on the BBC's on-demand service
BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...
for 28 days after its domestic broadcast. The program was replaced again by Asia Business Report and Sport Today on March 30, 2015. In Australia, ''WNT'' were aired every morning at 10:30 am. AET on
Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs f ...
until it was moved to SBS and
SBS Viceland SBS Viceland (stylised as SBS VICELAND) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). It began as SBS TWO on 1 June 2009, and was branded as SBS 2 between 2013 and 2016. On 8 April 2017, SBS ...
in July 2019. In New Zealand, ''WNT'' is shown at 5:10 p.m. on Sky News New Zealand. In Hong Kong, the program was broadcast live on
TVB Pearl TVB Pearl is a terrestrial television channel in Hong Kong owned by Television Broadcasts Limited. Established on 19 November 1967, it shares headquarters with TVB's other properties at TVB City at 77 Chun Choi Street in Tseung Kwan O Industr ...
daily at 07:30 until 08:00 HKT until May 31, 2009, when it was replaced by ''NBC Nightly News''. In Japan, it airs on NHK BS 1 as part of the weekday morning program ''Catch! Sekai no Top News (Catch the Global Top News)'' and later on ''World News'', and in clip form during the
English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
educational program ''Kōryaku! ABC News Eigo (Strategies! ABC News English)'' until its end in March 2021. In
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
,
Great Belize Television Great Belize Television, or as it is locally known, Channel 5, is a Belize City-based local television station established in December 1991. Channel 5 airs mostly American and Caribbean programs, as well as a variety of locally produced programs. ...
carries all editions of ''World News Tonight'' each weekday at 8:00 p.m. and weekends at 7:00 p.m.


References


External links

* * (includes production details on ''World News Tonight'' and ''World News'')
ABC News themes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abc World News ABC News American Broadcasting Company original programming 1953 American television series debuts 1950s American television news shows 1960s American television news shows 1970s American television news shows 1980s American television news shows 1990s American television news shows 2000s American television news shows 2010s American television news shows 2020s American television news shows English-language television shows Peabody Award-winning television programs Flagship evening news shows Television shows filmed in New York City