The president of CBS News is under fire after “CBS Mornings” posted its lowest-rated week ever — even as viewership continues to drop across the network, The Post has learned.
The morning show anchored by Gayle King and Nate Burleson had an average viewership of 1.59 million for the week of July 13 — the first time it’s ever dipped below the 1.6-million mark, according to Nielsen ratings. That marked a 13% drop in viewers compared to the same week last year.
The tailspin falls on the shoulders of CBS News President Tom Cibrowski, who has taken charge of “CBS Mornings” this year at the behest of CBS Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, according to network sources.
“Tom is dead meat,” one source opined, adding that such a ratings drop doesn’t bode well for Cibrowski. “I know Bari might not care about the show, but it is embarrassing when you hit all-time lows.”
Cibrowski and Weiss have different visions for the network and have had some difficulty working together, as previously reported by The Post, prompting speculation that Cibrowski could take the fall if ratings continue to decline.
A key gripe is that Cibrowski, a veteran TV producer who once ran ABC’s top-rated “Good Morning America,” has yet to fill the permanent third co-host role vacated after Tony Dokoupil’s move to “CBS Evening News” in January.
The exec also ousted executive producer Shawna Thomas in March and installed Jon Tower on an interim basis, though one source with knowledge of the matter said Cibrowski is effectively running the show.
Sources told The Post the revolving cast of fill-in co-hosts alongside King and Burleson has hurt the program’s cohesion.
But a third source familiar with the situation pushed back on the criticism, saying Cibrowski has not been given the resources necessary to make major hires or invest in the broadcast.
Some insiders believe Cibrowski has lost the show’s audience with an ill-conceived strategy to boost ratings with softer coverage that’s more squarely aimed at Middle America.
“Tom keeps saying people want weight-loss stories and weather stories. Holiday travel stories. He says it’s ‘news you can use’ — problem is, no one wants it,” one of the sources said, adding: “People need news.”
“Tom is a good man and a capable administrator, but he has a dim view of what American audiences want at a time of so much upheaval,” the source added.
One insider said interim-executive producer Tower has been vocal about wanting more investigative and enterprise stories from the investigative unit led by Matt Mosk for the crucial 7:30 a.m. hour, but little of it has materialized.
The latest ratings extend a difficult stretch for the broadcast, which has already posted its lowest-rated first quarter and its worst May and is on pace for its weakest June on record, according to previously reported Nielsen data.
The audience declines come as CBS News continues to undergo a broader overhaul under Weiss, though “CBS Mornings” has been a distant third-place finisher among the network morning shows both before and during her tenure.
Morning television ratings typically reach their lowest levels during the summer, and rival broadcasts have also recently posted historic lows. Last year, NBC’s “Today” logged the lowest total-viewer and demo audience in the program’s history during the same period.
“CBS Mornings” showed some signs of improvement at the start of this week.
Monday’s broadcast drew about 1.7 million viewers and 263,000 adults aged 25-54 — a 34% increase in the key demographic compared with the previous Monday.
Still, the longer-term trend remains challenging for the network’s morning franchise, which generates a significant share of its broadcast advertising revenue.
The Post has sought comment from CBS.
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