CBS Evening News Keeps Losing Viewers While ABC and NBC Pull Ahead

CBS Evening News is struggling to keep viewers while its rivals are growing fast. During the week of July 13, ABC and NBC both gained more viewers, but CBS was the only one of the three major network newscasts to lose viewers. The ratings drop is part of a bigger problem at CBS News, which has been going through major changes since a new leader took over last fall.

ABC World News Tonight, anchored by David Muir, stayed at the top of the ratings. That week, it averaged about 8.5 million total viewers. It was up 2 percent from the week before and up 17 percent compared to the same week the year before. Those numbers show that ABC's evening news is very popular and getting stronger.

NBC Nightly News, anchored by Tom Llamas, came in second place. It averaged about 6.7 million total viewers that week. NBC was up 5 percent from the week before and up 20 percent compared to the same week last year. NBC is growing quickly and slowly closing the gap with ABC.

CBS Evening News, anchored by Tony Dokoupil, finished the week with only about 3.75 million total viewers. That was a drop of 1 percent from the week before. Among the 25-to-54 age group, which advertisers care about most, CBS was down 5 percent. CBS trailed far behind both ABC and NBC.

The troubles at CBS started when Bari Weiss became editor-in-chief last October. Weiss is the founder of an online news outlet called The Free Press. She had no experience in broadcast television before taking this job. She promised to make big changes at CBS News, but many people have not been happy with those changes.

Some critics say Weiss has changed CBS News coverage to be more favorable to President Donald Trump and the country of Israel. Weiss has denied this, saying she is not 'a mouthpiece for anybody.' Her leadership has been a source of debate both inside and outside the network. CBS News became part of a company called Paramount, which was bought by billionaire David Ellison, who reportedly has ties to Trump.

One major conflict happened in December. Weiss reportedly rejected a 60 Minutes report about harsh conditions in a prison in Latin America where the U.S. government had sent Venezuelan migrants. The report did eventually air about a month later. The tension over the story showed how much things had changed at CBS.

Several well-known CBS journalists have left the network under Weiss. Anchor Scott Pelley, who worked at CBS for nearly 40 years, was fired after he accused Weiss of 'murdering' the flagship news program during a heated meeting. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, 60 Minutes executive producer Tanya Simon, and correspondent Cecilia Vega also left the network. These departures shocked many longtime CBS viewers and employees.

CBS Mornings has also been hit hard by all the changes. After Pelley was fired, viewership fell sharply. On June 3, the day after his firing, total viewers dropped to about 1.59 million — an 11 percent decline. The drop in the key age group was even worse, falling 28 percent, and the program also had its worst-rated May and June ever recorded.