CBS Evening News Viewership Falls Below 4 Million

Viewership for CBS Evening News fell below 4 million for the week ending March 13, marking a decline under anchor Tony Dokoupil nearly three months into his tenure. The program averaged 3.84 million total viewers, according to Nielsen data, compared with 4.17 million during his debut week in January. In the 25-to-54 age demographic prized by advertisers, the audience reached 468,000, down from 533,000 at the start.

The drop places CBS Evening News well behind its competitors. ABC's World News Tonight, anchored by David Muir, drew 8.48 million total viewers and 1.03 million in the demographic for the same period. NBC's Nightly News, with Tom Llamas at the helm, averaged 6.51 million total viewers and 946,000 in the key group. CBS officials noted that the network retitled its Friday broadcast, excluding those results from the weekly totals.

Dokoupil's program has experienced fluctuations since its January relaunch. It peaked at 4.6 million viewers in a subsequent week and has shown week-to-week growth at times, including in February. Compared with season averages since September, total viewership is up 7 percent and the 25-to-54 demographic is up 10 percent. However,...