NBC’s long-running newsmagazine “Dateline” finished its 33rd season with an across-the-board ratings win, beating its ABC rival “20/20” for the first time in six years in a season that saw high-profile changes to its correspondent lineup.
The show finished its 2024-25 season last week ahead of “20/20” in total viewers (3.35 million vs. 3.32 million), the 18-49 age demographic (493,010 vs. 414,764) and the 25-54 age demographic (747,778 vs. 637,971). The last time the show beat “20/20” was during the 2019-20 season.
The win comes as the show saw “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt cede the evening news desk after 10 years for a full-time role with the show, and it follows its expansion into Spanish-language episodes. NBC News Now anchor Tom Llamas replaced Holt in June.
The show added Blayne Alexander as a correspondent last year alongside correspondents Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz, Keith Morrison and Dennis Murphy. It has also seen growth in its podcast series, which had more than 300 million downloads for its fourth consecutive year, and its streaming channel Dateline 24/7, which saw a 14% year-over-year increase in hours viewed.
NBC News is set to celebrate its “Dateline” franchise with its first live event on Sunday in Nashville, featuring the entire correspondent roster as well as interviews with “Dateline” subjects and Q&As with audience members. Actors Annette O’Toole, Michael McKean and Holly Robinson Peete will also host sessions throughout the daylong affair.
The show’s 34th season premiere — and 3,000th episode — debuts Friday with a two-hour look at the murder of Colorado mother Kristil Krug, who was killed in 2023 after a stab wound to the heart. A jury convicted her husband, Daniel Krug, in April on charges of first-degree murder.
