‘CBS Evening News’ ratings fall to historic lows under Tony Dokoupil
by The Washington Times AI News Desk · The Washington Times“CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil” has fallen below 4 million viewers for the third consecutive week, reaching historic lows and raising fresh doubts about the program’s direction under CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss.
The Dokoupil-led broadcast averaged fewer than 3.9 million viewers across all of April, its lowest monthly total since he took over as anchor. In the advertiser-coveted adults 25-54 demographic, the program averaged 497,000 viewers — its lowest April in that category this century.
The show’s worst stretch came in the week of March 23, when it drew just over 3.5 million viewers. Since then, “CBS Evening News” has averaged 3.78 million viewers and 479,000 adults 25-54, declining 11 percent in both measures from Mr. Dokoupil’s earlier average — a steeper drop than those recorded by either ABC’s “World News Tonight” or “NBC Nightly News” during the same period.
The latest Nielsen data, first reported by Status, showed the week of April 20 was particularly grim. Mr. Dokoupil’s broadcast averaged just 3.7 million total viewers and 467,000 in the key demographic — the lowest-rated stretch of his tenure.
In the first quarter, “CBS Evening News” averaged 4.279 million viewers, down 7% year-over-year, while its 25-54 audience of 535,000 was off nearly 20%.
Veteran industry figures have grown openly critical. According to Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter, one executive called the situation a “train wreck,” while another said Ms. Weiss’ “decisions have turned off even more of their shrinking audience. These declines are part of a larger and deeper crisis at CBS News.”
A CBS News spokesperson pushed back, telling The Wrap that ratings are up 2% in April 2026 compared to April 2025 and that it is “not fair” to blame the current numbers on Mr. Dokoupil and Ms. Weiss. Network executives said they attributed the continued decline to broader viewership trends, as audiences shift from linear television to streaming platforms and YouTube, and that there was no expectation Mr. Dokoupil would reverse the program’s trajectory within 16 weeks.
One bright spot came this week when Mr. Dokoupil anchored from outside the White House following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, drawing 4.3 million total viewers.
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Mr. Dokoupil, a former co-host of “CBS Mornings,” took over the anchor chair on Jan. 5 after being promoted by Ms. Weiss, who became CBS News editor-in-chief in October. He replaced John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois.
The competition remains far ahead. ABC’s “World News Tonight with David Muir” averaged 8.54 million viewers and roughly 1.1 million in the demo last week, while “NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas” drew 6.17 million total viewers and 831,000 in the demo — more than double CBS News’ numbers in both cases.
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