Tony Dokoupil Hits Rock Bottom

The latest evening news ratings are in, and it’s not looking good for CBS Evening News, which has now finished below 4 million viewers for the third week in a row.

According to AdWeek, citing national live+same-day big data plus program ratings from Nielsen, the Tony Dokoupil fronted broadcast averaged 3.771 million total viewers and 467,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demographic for the week of April 20. This was down 1 percent in total viewers and down 3 percent in the demo compared to the week prior.

The show was also down on the same period last year, when John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois helmed the program. CBS Evening News fell by 2 percent in total viewers and by 12 percent in the key demo. Dokoupil took over as anchor on January 5 after he was promoted from CBS Mornings by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.

Overall, CBS Evening News marked its second-lowest-rated April this century, and its lowest 25-54 demo rating ever.

According to Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter, veteran television executives have raised concerns about the future of CBS Evening News. “This isn’t what a turnaround looks like. This is what a train wreck looks like,” one executive told the outlet.

Another said that Weiss’ “decisions have turned off even more of their shrinking audience. These declines are part of a larger and deeper crisis at CBS News.”

Elsewhere, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir remained at the top, averaging 8.537 million total viewers and 1.56 million demo viewers for the week of April 20. This was up 4 percent in total viewers and up 5 percent in the demo compared to the week before. The show was also up 15 percent in total viewers and up 1 percent in the demo compared to 2025.

NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas held onto the No. 2 spot, averaging 6.168 million total viewers and 831,000 demo viewers, for the week of April 20. Compared to the week prior, the show was down 4 percent in total viewers and down 12 percent in the demo. However, compared to the same week in 2025, Nightly News was up by 8 percent in both measured categories.

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