CBS Broadcasts Navigate Shifting Audiences Amidst Competitive Landscape
Tony Dokoupil's Second Week: A Glimmer of Growth for 'CBS Evening News'
In the second week of Tony Dokoupil's tenure as the anchor for the 'CBS Evening News,' the program observed a marginal uptick in its audience. This period, encompassing the week of January 12th, recorded an average of 4.19 million total viewers. Additionally, the show attracted 584,000 adults within the crucial 25-54 age demographic, which is a key indicator for news advertising revenue. These statistics represent a slight improvement compared to Dokoupil's inaugural full week, which registered 4.17 million viewers and 533,000 adults in the same demographic. Furthermore, the recent performance surpassed the newscast's average for the ongoing 2025-26 season, which previously stood at 4.02 million total viewers and 498,500 adults aged 25-54.
CBS Evening News: Holding Steady in the Network News Arena
Despite the modest rise in viewership, the 'CBS Evening News' maintained its current standing within the competitive landscape of network evening newscasts. For several years, CBS has consistently trailed behind its main rivals, ABC and NBC. During the same week of January 12th, ABC's 'World News Tonight' led with an impressive average of 8.16 million total viewers and 1.04 million adults aged 25-54. Meanwhile, 'NBC Nightly News' secured 6.68 million total viewers and 964,000 adults in the 25-54 demographic, underscoring the considerable gap CBS continues to face in the race for evening news audiences.
Comparative Performance: Dokoupil's Initial Weeks Versus Previous Year's Averages
A closer look at the data reveals that Tony Dokoupil's first two weeks at the helm of the 'CBS Evening News' delivered lower viewership numbers when compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. In the equivalent timeframe last year, the 'CBS Evening News' had an average of 5.13 million total viewers and attracted 729,000 adults in the 25-54 demographic. This comparison highlights a year-over-year decline in audience engagement for the program, suggesting that while recent weeks have shown incremental growth, the newscast still has ground to recover to match past performance.
'60 Minutes' Suffers Significant Viewership Setback
In contrast to the 'CBS Evening News,' the iconic investigative program '60 Minutes' experienced a substantial drop in its audience. The episode aired on January 18th featured a segment titled “Inside CECOT,” reported by correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi. This story delved into the conditions at a Salvadoran prison where the Trump administration had been sending Venezuelan deportees as part of its mass deportation policy. The segment had initially been scheduled for broadcast in December but was postponed by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who cited the need for further reporting. Ultimately, the story aired in its original form, with Alfonsi providing an updated in-studio commentary at the segment's conclusion.
NFL Playoff Impact: '60 Minutes' Audience Erosion
The decision to air the CECOT story on January 18th coincided with a major NFL playoff game broadcast on NBC, which captivated a massive audience of over 45 million viewers. This direct competition proved detrimental to '60 Minutes,' which typically benefits from an NFL game lead-in during the football season, a luxury it did not have on this particular Sunday. Consequently, the program garnered an average of only about 5 million viewers, falling significantly short of its season average of 9.41 million. Despite presenting entirely new content, CBS chose to label this installment as '60 Minutes Presents,' a designation usually reserved for reruns, ensuring that these lower ratings would not adversely affect the show's official season average in Nielsen reports.