CBS Evenings News Ratings Revealed Amid Big Shake-Up & John Dickerson Exit

CBS News has gone through several significant changes in recent weeks, including a new editor-in-chief and high-profile exits. But how are these shake-ups impacting the network’s ratings?

According to AdWeek, citing Nielsen’s live+same-day big data plus program ratings, CBS Evening News recorded double-digit growth among total viewers for the week of October 20. The show, hosted by John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois, averaged 4.090 million total viewers, up 12 per cent from the week prior.

In the key Adults 25-54 demographic, CBS Evening News averaged 475,000 viewers for the week of October 20, up 6 per cent compared to the previous week.

Despite the positive week-over-week numbers, the Evening News broadcast was down year-over-year. Compared to the same week in 2024, when Norah O’Donnell still served as host, the show declined 5 per cent in total viewers and 26 per cent in the demo.

The latest ratings come amid upheaval at CBS News. The network’s parent company Paramount merged with David Ellison’s Skydance in August, and the CEO has been putting his stamp on the company. On October 6, Paramount Skydance acquired the publication The Free Press and named its co-founder, Bari Weiss, as CBS News’ new editor-in-chief.

Weiss has reportedly been meeting with staffers and reporters as she looks to shake up CBS Evening News, including the show’s former anchor, O’Donnell, and CBS Mornings co-host Tony Dokoupil. Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter also reported that Fox News’ Bret Baier‘s name has been floated for the position, though Baier himself has denied the reports.

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On Monday, current Evening News co-host John Dickerson announced he will be parting ways with CBS News at the end of the year. The shocking departure news came less than a year after Dickerson and DuBois began co-hosting Evening News in January.

While CBS Evening News saw an uptick in ratings last week, it still trailed its rivals. ABC World News Tonight with David Muir remained at the top spot with an average of 7.864 million total viewers (up 3 per cent on the week prior) and 925,000 in the key demo (flat with the previous week). Muir’s show was also up 7 per cent in total viewers compared to the same week in 2024, but down 11 per cent in the demo.

NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas held second place with an average of 5.843 million total viewers (up 3 per cent on last week) and 803,000 demo viewers (up 8 per cent on the week prior). Compared to the same week a year ago, the show was flat in total viewers and down 12 per cent in the demo.

It should be noted that last week’s average for ABC News was based on three days (Tuesday to Thursday), while NBC News’ average was based on four days (Monday, Wednesday to Friday) due to NFL and NBA broadcasts.