By Trendsetter Tribune 
CBS Evening News saw a sharp ratings decline in Tony Dokoupil’s first week as anchor, according to Nielsen data cited by Vanity Fair, trailing ABC and NBC competitors.
CBS hoped Tony Dokoupil’s takeover of the CBS Evening News would reverse years of declining viewership and modernize the storied broadcast. Instead, early ratings suggest the gamble has yet to pay off, raising new questions about the network’s strategy in an increasingly competitive evening news landscape.
What Happened
According to Vanity Fair, citing Nielsen ratings data, viewership for the CBS Evening News dropped 23% year-over-year during Tony Dokoupil’s first week as anchor.
The program averaged 4.17 million viewers, down from 5.4 million viewers during the same period last year, when the broadcast was led by Norah O’Donnell and featured coverage of the California wildfires and Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The decline was even more pronounced in the key 25–54 advertising demographic, which fell 23%, dropping from 690,000 viewers to 533,000.
How CBS Compares to Rivals
Dokoupil’s debut placed CBS well behind its competitors:
- ABC’s World News Tonight: 8.1 million viewers
- NBC’s Nightly News: 6.73 million viewers
- CBS Evening News*: 4.17 million viewers
The gap underscores the challenge CBS faces as it attempts to regain relevance against more dominant network rivals.
Background: A High-Risk Network Reset
The ratings slump comes after CBS leadership made a major editorial shift. Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss selected Dokoupil to overhaul the broadcast following the cancellation of the two-anchor format led by Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson, which had also struggled to retain viewers.
Dokoupil’s tenure got off to a rocky start. His first week included on-air missteps and awkward segments involving vaccine policy changes and coverage of federal law-enforcement shootings, drawing criticism from media observers.
Digital Gains, Broadcast Losses
While linear television ratings fell, CBS did see growth in its digital footprint. YouTube views for CBS Evening News clips reportedly rose 58% week-over-week, suggesting increased online interest.
However, those gains have not offset the losses on traditional television, where Dokoupil’s debut still trails past anchors:
- Jeff Glor: 7 million viewers
- Scott Pelley: 5.72 million viewers
- Norah O’Donnell: 5.24 million viewers
Analysis: A Troubling First Impression
The early numbers suggest that rebranding alone may not be enough to revive the CBS Evening News. While digital engagement shows promise, advertisers and network executives remain focused on broadcast ratings, where CBS continues to lag significantly behind ABC and NBC.
First-week ratings are not always definitive, but a drop of this magnitude places added pressure on Dokoupil and CBS leadership to quickly stabilize the program.
Conclusion
Tony Dokoupil’s debut was meant to mark a new chapter for CBS Evening News. Instead, the show’s first week delivered a sobering reminder of how difficult it has become to win back audiences in the crowded evening news market. Whether CBS can translate digital momentum into sustained broadcast growth remains an open question.