CBS News trails rivals in midterm election viewership, Nielsen data shows
Major television networks competed for audience share during Tuesday night’s midterm election coverage, and CBS News finished last among broadcast networks, according to early Nielsen data. The network’s performance highlights ongoing challenges since David Ellison’s acquisition of Paramount and the appointment of Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News.
Variety senior TV editor Brian Steinberg reported on X that CBS News’ election night coverage was the least watched of the major broadcast networks, which include NBC and ABC, and also lagged behind cable news channels like CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC.
CBS News attracted approximately 2.6 million viewers, with 715,000 falling within the key 25-to-54-year-old demographic during primetime. In contrast, the three major cable news networks each averaged around 3.9 million viewers.
CNN’s Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter shared viewership figures on X, revealing that NBC led with 6.52 million viewers, followed by ABC with 4.91 million, CNN with 3.93 million, MSNBC with 3.92 million, Fox News with 3.88 million, and CBS with 2.63 million.
NBC News also reported a record 29 million views across social media platforms, largely attributed to chief data analyst Steve Kornacki’s interactive board and “Kornacki Cam,” which drew double the live viewership of competing networks over 10 and a half hours.
CBS News has experienced consistent viewership declines. Its evening news program has struggled, and last season averaged 4.04 million total viewers, a 3 percent decrease, according to Adweek. While viewership increased to 4.63 million the week of October 19, it still fell short of NBC’s Nightly News with Tom Llamas (6.72 million viewers) and ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir (8.84 million viewers).
Tony Dokoupil’s transition from CBS Mornings to CBS Evening News last January drew criticism, with one network staffer alleging the program had become “state TV.” Bari Weiss has also faced criticism regarding editorial decisions, including delaying the airing of a 60 Minutes segment about Venezuelan migrants due to concerns about conditions at CECOT, an El Salvadoran prison.
Significant changes occurred at 60 Minutes last May, with Executive Producer Tanya Simon, her deputy Draggan Mihailovich, and correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi being removed. A network insider recently told Page Six, “She doesn’t hear anybody. If you don’t agree with what she’s saying or doing, it doesn’t matter. She pretends to hear ideas, but she really doesn’t listen to anyone.”,
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“CBS News is dead last in network ratings coverage of midterms, Nielsen data reveals”
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