For two nights in a row, NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas has had an odd new additive to his traditional sign-off.

"Before we go tonight, a number of new viewers have found us in the past couple of weeks and we want to thank them for joining us." That's it. No explanation and no word on exactly what he's talking about. 

But there may be a very logical reason for the cryptic statement.

ABC World News Tonight With David Muir has been #1 in the 6:30 PM timeslot for some time now. But ABC/Disney is locked in a huge carriage fee dispute with YouTube TV that has seen all that network's programming taken off the platform for weeks, blacking out hundreds of thousands of subscribers. That may have led to a surge in at least some of those viewers turning to NBC instead, which is still available.  

According to several industry websites, that's allowed NBC to overtake its longtime competitor in the 25-54 demo for the first time since August 2024. And that may explain the wish for those viewers "finding" the alternate competitor. An unusual on-air statement you don't see very often.  

My guess is that the Peacock network is hoping those newcomers will stick around if and when the dispute is ever settled - it's been dragging on for weeks now, especially angering subscribing sports fans, who have been shut out of college football coverage on the weekends, as well as regular ABC programming. It's said to be costing owner Disney some $30 million a week - with no end in sight. 

So no wonder NBC is happy to "welcome those newcomers" - even if they can't openly say why.