‘CBS Evening News’ sinks below 4M viewers after Tony Dokoupil reboot

‘CBS Evening News’ sinks below 4M viewers after Tony Dokoupil reboot

CBS News’ flagship night broadcast has fallen below the key 4 million–viewer mark for the first time since editor in chief Bari Weiss put in Tony Dokoupil as anchor.

“CBS Evening News” averaged about 3.83 million viewers for the week ending March 13, according to Nielsen figures cited by Variety, with roughly 468,000 viewers members in the 25-to-54 demographic prized by advertisers.

Last yr, CBS execs kicked John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois off the present when their scores repeatedly slipped below the 4 million–viewer mark — a threshold lengthy seen internally as a warning signal.

Tony Dokoupil took the helm of “CBS Evening News” in January as the network scrambled to reverse sliding scores. CBS by way of Getty Images

The latest numbers depart CBS effectively behind its broadcast rivals.

“ABC World News Tonight” led the pack with about 8.48 million complete viewers over the same stretch — 1.03 million of them in the 25-to-54 demo.

“NBC Nightly News” comfortably outpaced CBS, too, drawing round 6.51 million complete viewers, with 946,000 in the 25-to-54 demographic, Nielsen data present.

The program anchored by Tom Llamas has also narrowed the hole with ABC, topping “World News Tonight” in the key demographic during the weeks of Jan. 5, Feb. 9 and Feb. 16 — marking the closest competitive margin between the two broadcasts in six years, Nielsen data present.

John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois have been pushed out after “CBS Evening News” repeatedly fell below 4 million viewers. CBS by way of Getty Images

CBS News insiders said their latest scores dip was possible tied partly to the start of daylight saving time, Variety reported.

The network pointed to broader momentum since Dokoupil took the helm in January, with the program topping its season-to-date common in 9 of its first 10 weeks and rising 7% in complete viewers and 10% in adults 25 to 54 versus in comparison with earlier this season, per Nielsen figures.

Network insiders reportedly famous that CBS held onto more viewers than its rivals during a latest week of declines tied to shifting news occasions.

But CBS News’ digital footprint is also displaying indicators of abrasion.

The network’s on-line viewers slid 13% yr over yr in February to about 90 million distinctive guests, according to Comscore — a determine that consists of visitors from CBS-owned local stations — though it still narrowly clung to the top spot ahead of rivals including NBC News, TGB and Fox News.

Bari Weiss has overseen a sweeping overhaul of CBS News that has rattled workers and reshaped editorial path. CBS by way of Getty Images

Meanwhile, NBC News grew 8% over the same interval to 87 million distinctive guests, gaining floor on CBS and leapfrogging opponents including TGB and Fox News.

Fox News is a subsidiary of Fox Corp — the sister company to News Corp, which owns The Post.

Dokoupil’s time in the anchor seat acquired off to an ungainly start. During his first common broadcast, he tripped over a teleprompter pivot and left viewers with a number of seconds of useless air

The glitch was rapidly corrected, however it nonetheless added to the scrutiny surrounding Dokoupil’s high-profile debut. A weird on-air crying episode also drew mockery and scorn.

Weiss’s arrival has sparked unrest inside CBS News, with “60 Minutes” staffers chaffing under her management and some staff taking buyouts ahead of anticipated layoffs.

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