What To Know
- CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil has rebounded above 4 million viewers for the first time in weeks.
- Dokoupil’s recent ratings surpass those of his predecessors, John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois.
- Despite improvements, CBS Evening News continues to lag behind its competitors on ABC and NBC.
Tony Dokoupil is beginning to bounce back after some of the worst ratings in CBS Evening News history last month.
According to Variety, citing Nielsen numbers for the week beginning May 18, CBS Evening News averaged 4.01 million total viewers, marking the first time in weeks the show has surpassed 4 million viewers. The program was also up in the coveted Adults 25-54 demographic, averaging 605,000 viewers.
Both figures were up on the week prior, which averaged 3.806 million total viewers and 503,000 demo viewers, marking the second week in a row the show has posted increases.
Dokoupil took over as CBS Evening News anchor in January after he was promoted from CBS Mornings by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. While ratings remained steady in the first couple of months, March saw a downturn, with the show dropping below 4 million viewers, with a low of 3.5 million in the week of March 23.
The show remained below 4 million viewers throughout April, with CBS Evening News marking its second-lowest-rated April this century, and its lowest 25-54 demo rating ever.
With CBS Evening News now back above 4 million, Dokoupil is up on his predecessors, John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. In numbers available from May 2025, Dickerson and DuBois averaged 3.637 million total viewers and 502,000 A25-54 viewers for the week of May 5.
Despite the turnaround, CBS Evening News still trails its competition on ABC News and NBC News.
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir remained at the top spot for the week of May 18, averaging 8.18 million total viewers and 867,000 in the key demo. This was up from 7.889 million viewers the week prior, but down from the 962,000 demo viewers.
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas held onto the second spot with 6.09 million total viewers and 867,000 demo viewers. This was up slightly in total viewers from 5.97 million the week prior and up from 831,000 in the demo.
CBS Evening News, Weeknights, 6:30/5:30c, CBS
NBC Nightly News, Weeknights, 6:30/5:30c, NBC
ABC World News Tonight, Weeknights, 6:30/5:30c, ABC