Tony Dokoupil’s Fill-In Matt Gutman Earns CBS News Best Ratings in Months
What To Know
- CBS Evening News achieved its highest ratings in 17 weeks when Matt Gutman filled in for regular anchor Tony Dokoupil.
- Gutman’s broadcasts drew over 100,000 more viewers and a higher demo number than Dokoupil’s previous week.
- CBS News sources claim that it’s a ‘bad sign’ for Dokoupil’s future.
CBS Evening News scored its best ratings performance in 17 weeks for the week beginning July 27, yet it did so without regular anchor Tony Dokoupil at the helm.
The show averaged 4.1 million viewers for the week of July 27, when CBS News chief correspondent Matt Gutman was filling in for Dokoupil. Not only was it the program’s best performance in four months, but it was the first time the show had topped the 4 million viewer mark since late March.
In addition to gaining 100,000 viewers compared to Dokoupil’s previous week, the Gutman broadcasts also delivered an increase in the coveted Adults 25-54 demographic. For the week of July 27, Gutman averaged 570,000 demo viewers, compared to Dokoupil’s 516,000 the week before.
“It’s a bad sign for Tony when your substitute anchor reels in over 100,000 more viewers than you,” a CBS source said, per the New York Post. “If this trend continues, [CBS News Editor-in-Chief] Bari Weiss will have to think about changing anchors.”
CBS
The source added that Dokoupil will need to keep viewership above 4 million upon his return, or it will be a “clear indication” that the audience prefers Gutman, “even if it’s a small sample.”
Weiss promoted Dokoupil from CBS Mornings to the anchor role on CBS Evening News last December, replacing Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson. While the Dokoupil-led show reached a ratings high of 4.6 million in late January, the numbers have since declined.
Since taking over CBS Evening News, Dokoupil and Weiss have both faced criticism for appearing to appease President Donald Trump and his administration. Technical issues also plagued the anchor’s debut, and he was later criticized for his lenient coverage of the January 6 attacks and for featuring an interview with his own mother on the program.
A CBS News insider told the Post that all network newscasts saw an increase in viewership for the week of July 27 compared to the week of July 20.
ABC World News Tonight was up 3 percent in the demo for the week of July 27, which saw Whit Johnson filling in for David Muir. The show was also up slightly in total viewers, with 8.18 million over 8.14 million the week before.
Meanwhile, NBC Nightly News was up slightly in total viewers (6.62M versus 6.60M) but down 1 percent in the demo compared to the week of July 20.
Disclaimer: This post was edited to more accurately reflect the week over week numbers for ABC World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News.
CBS Evening News, Weekdays, 6:30/5:30c, CBS
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A
i prefer Tony over Matt Guttman 100%
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G
I like Tony but I think he needs to go back to the morning show. He was really good there. When I see Matt Gutman , I always think of ABC news. He is good though
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M
Much prefer Tony to Matt on this.
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M
I much prefer Tony. Matt was distracting with his wavy hands and paper.
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J
I like them both.
Speaking of the CBS morning show... I wonder why, both Monday & Tuesday, Vlad introduces himself second, right after Gayle, and then Nate Burleson is third. It used to be Gayle, then Nate, then whoever is in the third chair. Both Gayle and Nate are regulars on the show, and I believe that Vlad is still simply filling in.
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