dailyloe.com – The CBS Evening News, anchored by Tony Dokoupil, has experienced a significant decline in viewership, dropping below 4 million for three consecutive weeks.
As reported by AdWeek, the program averaged 3.771 million total viewers and 467,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demographic for the week of April 20.
This marks a 1 percent decrease in total viewers and a 3 percent decrease in the key demographic from the previous week.
In comparison to the same period last year, when John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois were the anchors, the show fell by 2 percent in total viewers and by 12 percent in the demo.
Dokoupil, who took over as anchor on January 5, was promoted from CBS Mornings by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
The CBS Evening News is now reported to have its second-lowest-rated April this century and the lowest rating ever for the 25-54 demographic.
Concerns about the show’s future have been voiced by veteran television executives. One executive characterized the situation as “what a train wreck looks like.”
Another executive noted that Weiss’ decisions have alienated an already shrinking audience, indicating a deeper crisis at CBS News.
In contrast, ABC World News Tonight, led by David Muir, continues to dominate the ratings, averaging 8.537 million total viewers and 1.56 million in the demo for the week of April 20.
This represents a 4 percent increase in total viewers and a 5 percent increase in the demo compared to the prior week.
Compared to last year, ABC World News Tonight is up 15 percent in total viewers and 1 percent in the demo.
Meanwhile, NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas maintained its second-place position, averaging 6.168 million total viewers and 831,000 demo viewers for the same week.
However, NBC Nightly News saw a 4 percent decline in total viewers and a 12 percent decline in the demo from the previous week.
