‘CBS Evening News’ Tony Dokoupil Ratings Revealed as Wife Katy Tur Speaks Out

The ratings are in for Tony Dokoupil’s official debut as anchor of CBS Evening News, and while the numbers were up on the show’s season averages, they still trailed ABC and NBC by a wide margin.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, citing Nielsen viewing data, Dokoupil’s Monday (January 5) broadcast drew 4.37 million total viewers and 596,000 viewers in the key adults 25-54 demographic. This was up around nine per cent from the Evening News season average of 4.02 million and up 20 per cent in the demo from a 498,500 average.

Technically, Dokoupil made his debut earlier than expected, when he was called in to anchor on Saturday (January 3) to cover the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Viewing data for the Saturday broadcast hasn’t been made available.

While the Monday broadcast improved on Evening News‘ season average, the numbers were still well behind rival shows ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir, which led the 6:30 pm slot on Monday with 8.24 million viewers, and NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas, which averaged 7.21 million viewers.

NBC also led the night in the 25-54 demo with just under 1.1 million viewers, while ABC drew 1.02 million.

Dokoupil’s move from CBS Mornings to CBS Evening News came after several shake-ups at CBS News, including the hiring of The Free Press co-founder Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief in October.

Tony Dokoupil and Katy Tur; Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for WSJ. Magazine Innovators Awards

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A Deep Dive Into CBS News' Tony Dokoupil’s Wife & Family

On New Year’s Day, CBS News shared a video statement from Dokoupil, who urged viewers to hold him to account as he begins his new role. In his statement, he promised to prioritize the average American over advertisers, politicians, and corporate interests, including his CBS bosses.

However, Dokoupil’s debut week has been marred by technical issues and criticisms of trying to appease the Trump administration.

Dokoupil’s wife, MS NOW anchor Katy Tur, has been lending her support to her husband amid the backlash. On Wednesday, she shared a clip of Dokoupil’s interview with White House Border Czar Tom Homan on her Instagram stories. She also expressed her support in an Instagram post of his interview about growing up in Miami, writing, “I love this man.”