What To Know
- CBS Evening News has seen its viewership drop below 4 million, prompting speculation that the show’s executive producer could be fired.
- Recent changes, including appointing Tony Dokoupil as anchor, have not stopped a decline of over half a million viewers.
- CBS maintains that recent changes are unrelated to ratings or staff shakeups.
As CBS Evening News dips under 4 million viewers, the show’s executive producer could be on the chopping block.
According to the New York Post, network insiders have claimed that Kim Harvey, who has been at the helm of CBS Evening News since August 2025, could be given her marching orders unless she can turn the show’s viewing figures around in the coming weeks.
In December, CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss appointed former CBS Mornings co-host Tony Dokoupil as the new Evening News anchor, replacing John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. Dokoupil made his official debut on the evening broadcast on January 5, drawing 4.4 million viewers.
The Dokoupil-led show reached a ratings high of 4.6 million in late January, but since then, the numbers have continued to decline. For the week of March 9, CBS Evening News averaged 3.8 million viewers, per Nielsen numbers, the first time since Dokoupil took over that the show dropped below 4 million.
“It’s pretty terrible. Once you’re under 4 million, you’ve got to be worried that you’re in a death spiral,” an alleged CBS insider told the Post. “If they can’t retain an audience in the middle of a war, God help you when the war ends.”
Another said Harvey’s approach is “too soft,” referring to the show’s habit of ending with cute animal segments. “It’s animal story overload,” the source told the outlet. “Kim’s thing is animals. She’s turning Tony into the animal anchor.”
“The show has lost over a half a million viewers in three months,” said another, suggesting Harvey’s position could be in trouble. “You’ve got to sacrifice somebody to the ratings gods.”
Last October, Paramount Skydance CEODavid Ellisonappointed The Free Press co-founder Weiss as CBS News’ editor-in-chief. Since then, Weiss has been putting her stamp on the network, withsome critics accusing herof taking the news organization in a more MAGA-friendly direction.
The changes have continued this week, as the Evening News has shifted to a new camera angle, showing Dokoupil in front of a world map rather than the close-up shot in front of the newsroom.
A CBS spokesperson told the Post that these changes have nothing to do with ratings or staff changes, saying, “It is ludicrous to suggest that a show’s executive producer could be replaced because we changed a camera angle.”
“We’re excited about the new version of the CBS Evening News, and thrilled that our viewers are, too,” the spokesperson added, noting that Dokoupil has averaged higher viewing figures than the show did for the last 10 weeks of 2025.
CBS Evening News, Weekdays, 6:30/5:30c, CBS
