CBS News Ratings Tumble While Rivals Soar: What’s Happening at the Eye Network?

The Big Picture: A Tale of Three Networks

Imagine three runners in a race. Two are speeding up, while the third is slowing down — and that third runner just got a new coach who’s making some very controversial decisions.

That’s essentially what’s happening with America’s big three evening news programs right now. Let’s break it down in simple terms.

The Numbers Don’t Lie: Week of July 13, 2026

Important Point: Nielsen ratings are like report cards for TV shows. They tell us exactly how many people watched, and advertisers use these numbers to decide where to spend their money.

Here’s how the three networks performed:

First Place: ABC World News Tonight (Anchor: David Muir)

• Total viewers: 8.476 million
• Key demographic (adults 25-54): 1.002 million
• Week-over-week change: ↑ 2% total viewers, ↑ 1% in key demo
• Year-over-year change: ↑ 17% total viewers, ↑ 3% in key demo

Second Place: NBC Nightly News (Anchor: Tom Llamas)

• Total viewers: 6.684 million
• Key demographic (adults 25-54): 1.002 million
• Week-over-week change: ↑ 5% total viewers, ↑ 7% in key demo
• Year-over-year change: ↑ 20% total viewers, ↑ 20% in key demo

Third Place: CBS Evening News (Anchor: Tony Dokoupil)

• Total viewers: 3.754 million
• Key demographic (adults 25-54): 472,000
• Week-over-week change: ↓ 1% total viewers, ↓ 5% in key demo
• Year-over-year change: ↓ 1% total viewers, ↓ 5% in key demo

The bottom line: CBS is the only network losing viewers while ABC and NBC are both growing — and growing fast.

Who’s Calling the Shots at CBS?

Meet Bari Weiss: The New Editor-in-Chief

The David Ellison Connection

• Ellison bought Paramount (CBS’s owner) in 2024
• Reports say he has ties to President Donald Trump
• Weiss was his pick to run CBS News

The Controversies: What’s Gone Wrong?

1. Accusations of Biased Coverage

Critics say Weiss has steered CBS coverage to favor Trump and Israel. Weiss denies this, saying she’s "not a mouthpiece for anybody."

2. The 60 Minutes Prison Story Showdown

• December 2024: CBS correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi reported on harsh conditions in a Latin American prison where the Trump administration deported Venezuelan migrants
• Weiss’s reaction: She "trashed" the segment internally
• Outcome: The report aired a month later, but Alfonsi’s contract wasn’t renewed

3. The Veteran Purge: Big Names Gone

Since Weiss took over, CBS has lost:

• Scott Pelley — 68 years old, nearly 40 years at CBS, fired after accusing Weiss of "murdering" the flagship program
• Tanya Simon — 60 Minutes executive producer
• Cecilia Vega — Correspondent
• Sharyn Alfonsi — 60 Minutes correspondent

Important Point: When a network loses this many experienced journalists at once, it’s like a sports team trading away all its star players mid-season. Institutional knowledge walks out the door.

The Morning Show Crisis: CBS Mornings Crashes Too

The problems aren’t just at night. CBS Mornings (with Gayle King) has also tanked:

Status newsletter called it: "Worst-rated June ever" and "worst-rated May on record."

Network insiders were reportedly alarmed by how fast viewers fled.

Why Does This Matter? (ELI5 Explanation)

Think of TV news like three restaurants on the same street:

1. ABC’s restaurant — Packed every night, getting more popular
2. NBC’s restaurant — Also busy, catching up fast to ABC
3. CBS’s restaurant — Half-empty, losing customers while the others gain them

The new manager (Weiss) at CBS:

• Fired the head chef (Pelley) and other experienced staff
• Changed the menu to appeal to a specific crowd
• Regular customers noticed and stopped coming
• New customers aren’t replacing them

Advertisers (the people paying for commercials) watch this closely. They want to put ads where the most eyeballs are — especially eyeballs aged 25-54 (people who spend money).

Summary: The CBS Crisis in a Nutshell

1. Ratings are plummeting — CBS Evening News is the only major network losing viewers
2. Leadership change — Bari Weiss took over in Oct 2024 with no broadcast experience
3. Mass exodus — Veteran journalists fired or pushed out (Pelley, Alfonsi, Simon, Vega)
4. Morning show too — CBS Mornings hit record lows after Pelley’s firing
5. Competitors winning — ABC and NBC growing double-digits year-over-year
6. Controversy follows — Accusations of political bias in coverage decisions

FAQ: Your Questions Answered

Q1: Who is Bari Weiss and why does she matter?

A: She’s the new boss of CBS News (since October 2024). Before this, she founded The Free Press, a media outlet that calls itself "anti-woke." She had never run a broadcast news division before. Her hiring coincided with billionaire David Ellison buying Paramount (CBS’s parent company).

Q2: Why did Scott Pelley get fired?

A: Pelley (a 40-year CBS veteran) reportedly called out Weiss during an editorial meeting, accusing her of "murdering" the flagship news program. He was fired shortly after. Many saw this as a turning point — losing the network’s most respected journalist.

Q3: What’s the "key demographic" and why does it matter?

A: Adults aged 25-54. Advertisers pay the most for this group because they’re in their prime earning/spending years. CBS has only 472,000 in this group vs. 1+ million each for ABC and NBC. That’s a massive revenue problem.

Q4: Is this just a bad week, or a trend?

A: A trend. CBS has declined week-over-week AND year-over-year. Meanwhile, ABC is up 17% and NBC up 20% compared to last year. CBS Mornings also hit "worst-rated June ever." The pattern is consistent and worsening.

Q5: Can CBS fix this?

A: It’s possible, but hard. They’d need to:

• Stop the talent bleed (keep experienced journalists)
• Rebuild viewer trust (takes years)
• Define a clear identity (what is CBS News for?)
• Compete with ABC/NBC’s momentum

Right now, the trajectory is downward, and the competition is pulling away fast.

Data sourced from Nielsen ratings via TVNewser for the week of July 13, 2026. Original reporting by The Independent.