CBS News Finishes Last in Ratings on Election Night
New data shows CBS News had far fewer viewers than NBC, ABC, and even cable news channels during midterm election coverage.
On midterm election night, millions of Americans turned on their TVs to watch the results come in. Every major news network was competing to get the most viewers. But one network — CBS News — ended up in last place by a wide margin, according to early ratings data from Nielsen, a company that tracks how many people watch TV.
CBS News had about 2.6 million viewers during primetime on election night. That number includes around 715,000 viewers between the ages of 25 and 54, which advertisers consider a key group. By comparison, the three big cable news networks — CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC — each averaged close to 3.9 million viewers that same night.
NBC News came in first place among all the networks. It had 6.52 million viewers during primetime. ABC was second with 4.91 million, followed by CNN with 3.93 million, MSNBC with 3.92 million, Fox News with 3.88 million, and CBS at the bottom with just 2.63 million.
NBC News also set a record on social media. The network said it got 29 million views across platforms like YouTube and X. Much of that attention went to NBC's data analyst Steve Kornacki, who spent more than 10 hours on screen tracking race results using a large interactive map. His 'Kornacki Cam' drew twice as many live viewers online as the same feature on rival networks.
CBS News has been struggling with low ratings for a while. Its nightly newscast, the CBS Evening News, averaged about 4.04 million viewers last season — a drop of 3 percent from the year before. Even in a strong week in late October, when it climbed to 4.63 million viewers, it still fell far behind NBC's Nightly News with 6.72 million and ABC's World News Tonight with 8.84 million.
CBS News has gone through major changes recently. David Ellison, who now runs CBS's parent company Paramount, hired Bari Weiss as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. Some people inside the network have been unhappy with how things are being run. One insider said: 'She doesn't hear anybody. If you don't agree with what she's saying or doing, it doesn't matter.'
Weiss also made some decisions that caused controversy. Early in her time at CBS, she decided to hold back a '60 Minutes' report about Venezuelan migrants held in a harsh prison in El Salvador. The segment was eventually aired about a month later, but the delay upset many people inside and outside the network.
Tony Dokoupil, who now anchors the CBS Evening News, moved to that role in January and has faced criticism too. One CBS staffer said the show has started to feel like 'state TV,' meaning some believe it favors the government too much. With ratings still lagging far behind its rivals, CBS News faces real pressure to turn things around.
NBC came out on top with 6.52 million viewers, followed by ABC with 4.91 million, then CNN with 3.93 million.
Comprehension quiz preview
1. How many viewers did CBS News have during primetime on election night?
2. Which network had the most viewers during primetime on election night?
3. What does the word 'primetime' most likely mean in this article?