Trouble for Tony Dokoupil as ‘CBS Evening News’ viewership declines
While Dokoupil drew more than 4 million total viewers this week, only 458,000 of those came from the 25-to-54 age demo sought by advertisers.
The broadcast was down 9% in total viewers and down a sharp 21% in the demo compared to the week before. Even more concerning, year-over-year comparisons show a 7% decline in total viewers and a steep 28% decline in the demo.
“The overall audience is aging, and the erosion of demos is keeping executives awake at night,” a TV news source told Hollywood insider Rob Shuter, writing at Substack. “You cannot build a future by reducing the number of young people.”
Viewing figures for Dokoupil have been dismal since its debut in January, with significantly lower numbers in key advertising demographics. According to Nielsen data obtained by Radarviewership fell by 22 percent compared to the same day last year.
The numbers worsened compared to other splashy anchor debuts on the Tiffany network — down 17 percent from the start of the duo of Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson, who replaced Dokoupil; 20 percent lower than Norah O’Donnell before them; and a whopping 67 percent less than Katie Couric’s 2006 premiere.
One insider blasted the news broadcasts and the errors.
“It’s hard to come from a position of authority when everyone, including you, knows you’re just ‘Bari’s b—-‘,” one industry insider shared. Radar. “Curious to see how long the Ellisons will tolerate this total defenestration of CBS News before they intervene.”
The wheels came off almost immediately for Dokoupil, who suffered a visible meltdown during his first official broadcast on January 5.
After opening the broadcast with breaking news about the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Dokoupil found himself in the news when he became confused about which story to cover next: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s announcement that he would not seek re-election, or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s censure of Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
The 45-year-old tried to stammer through a segment.
“On other news, as you just heard from Jill… on other news now, on Governor Walz,” he said as Kelly’s photo appeared over his shoulder. “No, we’re going to do Mark Kelly.”
That was followed by an uncomfortably long silence before the CBS crew finally settled on the Kelly story.
As Kelly’s video started rolling, a clearly confused Dokoupil shook his head and grinned, before trailing off: “First day, big trouble here.”
Just a day later, Dokoupil, reporting remotely from Miami, ended his broadcast with a glorified salute to former Florida senator and current Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“Whatever you think of his politics, you have to admit it’s an impressive resume,” Dokoupil told viewers.
He then shared a collection of supposedly comedic AI memes that cast Rubio in other roles, such as Prime Minister of Greenland, the head of Hilton Hotels, the new manager of Manchester United and, finally, as the new Michelin Man.
Dokoupil finished the broadcast with a gush: “These memes may not mean much, but for the fans of Rubio’s hometown, of which there are many here in Miami, it’s a sign of how Florida, once an American punchline, has become a leader on the world stage.”
“Marco Rubio, we salute you,” he added. “You are the ultimate Florida man.”
