All the major networks were vying for viewers as midterm election returns rolled in Tuesday night — and CBS News unsurprisingly came in distant last.
After David Ellison, who has reportedly courted President Donald Trump, took over Paramount and named Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News, the network has seen dismal ratings. Even on a night when Americans were glued to their TVs, CBS News struggled with its viewership, suggesting just how far the network has fallen during its overhaul under Ellison and Weiss.
CBS News’ election night coverage was the least watched of major broadcast networks, which include NBC and ABC, Brian Steinberg, a senior TV editor for Variety, wrote on X Wednesday, citing people familiar with early Nielsen data. It was also behind cable networks such as CNN, Fox News and MS NOW, according to the data.
CBS News had around 2.6 million viewers, including 715,000 in the key 25-to-54-year-old demographic during primetime. In comparison, the three big cable news networks each garnered an average of roughly 3.9 million viewers, Steinberg said in a follow-up post.
CNN’s Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter shared the average primetime viewership for each network in a new X post. NBC came out on top with 6.52 million viewers, followed by ABC with 4.91 million, then CNN with 3.93 million, MS NOW with 3.92 million, Fox News with 3.88 million, and CBS with 2.63 million.
NBC News has said it also drew a record 29 million views across social media platforms thanks to the network’s chief data analyst, Steve Kornacki. Kornacki — known for frantically tracking race results using an interactive board — spent 10 and a half hours on Americans’ screens, drawing twice as many live viewers on his “Kornacki Cam” as its main competitors.
Coming in last is something CBS News has gotten used to. Its evening show has struggled with Tony Dokoupil at the helm.
CBS Evening News averaged 4.04 million total viewers last season, down 3 percent, Adweek reported in September, citing Nielsen data.
While the news program saw 4.63 million viewers the week of October 19, a 10 percent increase, according to Nielsen data reported on by Adweek in late October. But it still lagged behind NBC’s Nightly News with Tom Llamas, which brought in 6.72 million viewers and ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir, which brought in 8.84 million viewers.
Dokoupil’s move from CBS Mornings to the flagship night program last January was met with criticism, with one network staffer telling The Independent at the time that Dokoupil has turned the Evening News into “state TV.”
Weiss has faced her own backlash over controversial editorial decisions, including her choice early on in her tenure to pull a 60 Minutes segment about Venezuelan migrants sent by the Trump administration to CECOT, an El Salvadoran prison accused of having inhumane conditions. The segment aired nearly one month later.
The team at 60 Minutes also saw a major shakeup last May during a day dubbed “Black Thursday,” during which Executive Producer Tanya Simon was ousted, along with her deputy, Draggan Mihailovich, and correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi.
One network insider complained about Weiss to Page Six last month: “She doesn’t hear anybody. If you don’t agree with what she’s saying or doing, it doesn’t matter. She pretends to hear ideas, but she really doesn’t listen to anyone.”
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