CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil, who has been working to lift the broadcast’s lagging ratings, was outdrawn last week by the journalist filling in for him, according to new Nielsen figures.
The long-running CBS program, which has remained in third place among the major evening newscasts, posted its strongest month of viewership since March while former ABC correspondent Matt Gutman was in the anchor chair.
The ratings shift was first reported by Status. The Daily Mail said it also reviewed the relevant Nielsen data for the week of July 27.
Dokoupil, 45, is currently away on a two-week vacation. His absence follows what was his weakest ratings month since January, when he first took over the role.
Gutman, 48, quickly delivered an audience of 4.1 million viewers, putting him roughly 300,000 viewers ahead of Dokoupil’s average audience for July.
The numbers add fresh scrutiny for Dokoupil, whose broadcast has not topped the 4 million-viewer mark since March.
One veteran television executive from a rival network told the Daily Mail that the timing of Dokoupil’s extended break was surprising, noting that summer can be a key window for underperforming shows to regain momentum.
‘Everyone is entitled to a vacation, but when you are trying to build an audience and fighting to right a failing ship, taking a two-weeker is a headscratcher.
CBS Evening News star Tony Dokoupil, 45, is currently on a two-week vacation. He just scored his worst ratings-month since January, his first on the job.
Gutman, 48, managed 4.1 million viewers last week – the most the show has had since March
‘Makes you wonder if Dokoupil has given up.’
‘Never seen this before,’ another executive who spoke to Status said, branding the move as ‘another dagger in Tony’s neck’ and ‘baffling.’
They also flagged it a ‘missed opportunity’ for the anchor to have gained ground on an also-vacationing David Muir, who anchors ABC’s first-place World News Tonight.
‘And his substitute outclassed him in the ratings,’ the executive added.
The once-esteemed broadcast is in the midst of a massive overhaul while being masterminded by Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss.
Weiss, 42, brought on Dokoupil from CBS Mornings, following a disastrous dual-anchor experiment by her predecessors last year that sent more than 1.2 million viewers astray.
At the time, the show was still averaging 4 million viewers comfortably. Sources told Status the number has long been viewed within CBS News as the minimum amount acceptable. Under Dokoupil, it has turned into an achievement.
Weiss was hired to be CBS News’s editor-in-chief in October, at the behest of then-new Paramount CEO David Ellison. Ellison, at the time, articulated a vision of CBS News reaching more people across the country and moving into the digital age.
Longtime CBS Mornings host Dokoupil was elevated to CBS Evening News in December
Gutman, the network’s chief correspondent, was brought on at the same time after several years with ABC News
Gutman, the network’s chief correspondent, was one of Weiss’ first hires. Gutman’s former bosses at ABC actually let her take him off their hands, a source told the Daily Mail at the time.
Sources told Status last month that they believed Weiss’s moves since taking the reins have irrevocably damaged the CBS brand.
One CBS News staffer told the publication: ‘The problem is clearly Bari. We are all trying to clean this up, but we need Ellison’s help.’
The Daily Mail approached CBS News for comment.
