The ratings for Tony Dokoupil’s debut as anchor of the CBS Evening News are … fine.
The Jan. 5 edition of CBS’ nightly newscast improved some on the show’s season averages, but it did not meaningfully close the gap between CBS and network rivals ABC and NBC. CBS has for years ranked a distant third in the 6:30 p.m. newscast ratings.
Dokoupil’s first weeknight turn in the Evening News anchor chair drew 4.37 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings, and 596,000 adults 25-54, considered the key demographic for newscasts. (He actually made his debut a little ahead of schedule on Saturday, Jan. 3, following the U.S. military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.)
The 4.37 million viewers for Monday’s CBS Evening News is up about 9 percent from its season average of 4.02 million. The 596,000 adults 25-54 who watched Monday’s show improved by 20 percent vs. a season average of about 498,500.
Both figures, however, trail ABC and NBC by a considerable amount. ABC’s World News Tonight, per usual, led the 6:30 p.m. network rankings Monday with 8.24 million viewers, and the NBC Nightly News had 7.21 million. NBC led the 25-54 demographic with just under 1.1 million viewers in that age range, while ABC drew 1.02 million.
One night of a newscast that runs about 250 days each year is not predictive of much, obviously: Dokoupil’s tenure as Evening News anchor will presumably be measured in months and years, and longer-term numbers will tell a more complete story.
Dokoupil was named the anchor of the CBS Evening News in December, with CBS News editor-in-chief saying at the time that the former CBS Mornings co-host would help win back viewers’ trust. “Americans hungry for fairness will see that on display night after night,” Weiss said in a statement. He replaced John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois in the anchor chair.
Both Dokoupil and Weiss have drawn some criticism for the anchor’s video, released a few days before he took over as anchor, in which he said news media has “put too much weight on the analysis of academics or elites and not enough on [everyday viewers].” He also pledged that the viewers would come first for him. “Not advertisers. Not politicians. Not corporate interests. And, yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS. I report for you.”