CBS News’ flagship programs are reportedly on track to hit historic lows six months into the tenure of editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who’s overseen layoffs, sinking morale and newsroom turmoil.
With the first quarter winding down at the end of the week, “CBS Evening News” is poised to see its worst audience numbers for any January-through-March period this century, according to data cited by the Status newsletter.
The Tony Dokoupil-helmed show has reportedly sunk to an average of 4.3 million viewers, down 7% from last year, with viewership in the coveted 25-54 demographic down 18% to 541,000.
Things are no better at “CBS Mornings,” which has been averaging just 1.8 million viewers — down 13% year over year — while its viewers in the 25-54 demo plunged 28% to 268,000. Those figures would mark the show’s worst quarter ever.
The competition at ABC and NBC have seen their audiences grow.
ABC’s “World News Tonight with David Muir” reportedly drew an average 8.7 million viewers for the quarter, up 8% — though it dipped 5% in the 25-54 demographic to about 1.1 million viewers.
NBC’s “Nightly News with Tom Llamas” notched a 6% increase in its total audience — averaging 7 million — as well as a 7% bump in the key demo, to more than 1 million viewers, according to figures obtained by Status.
Muir, meanwhile, has solidified his hold on first place in the nightly news race.
ABC’s flagship news show has widened its lead over Llamas and NBC to roughly 2.3 million viewers per night, marking its biggest advantage in nearly six years, according to Nielsen data.
Muir’s broadcast averaged 8.8 million viewers for the week of March 16, compared to 6.5 million for the “Nightly News,” while also leading in the key 25–54 demo with 1.102 million viewers versus NBC’s 978,000.
Llamas was absent from Monday through Wednesday of last week. Upon his return on Thursday, “World News Tonight” and “Nightly News” tied in the 25-54 demo, according to Nielsen figures.
ABC’s dominance has extended across the season, with “World News Tonight” leading NBC by about 1.78 million viewers on average — its widest margin in more than three decades.
One bright spot for NBC is that “Nightly News” has narrowed the gap with ABC in the key 25-54 demo to its closest point in six years.
CBS’s ratings slide comes as The Tiffany Network’s news division undergoes a sweeping overhaul under Weiss, who recently slashed about 6% of the workforce — about 60 to 70 employees — and shuttered the network’s nearly century-old radio division as part of a broader cost-cutting push driven by parent company Paramount Skydance.
The cuts have rattled the newsroom, where insiders say morale has plunged alongside viewership. More layoffs are expected as contracts for top talent start to expire in the coming months.
The struggles at “CBS Evening News” have sparked speculation that top producers could also be on the chopping block if ratings fail to rebound. The program averaged about 3.83 million viewers for the week ending March 13 — falling short of a key threshold.
“It’s pretty terrible. Once you’re under 4 million, you’ve got to be worried that you’re in a death spiral,” a CBS insider previously told The Post.
The Post has sought comment from CBS News.
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