CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil gained viewers in the week ending June 1, but it still finished a distant third behind ABC’s World News Tonight and NBC’s Nightly News—leaving CBS’s broader ratings pressure under new leadership very much alive.
For CBS, the week ending June 1 brought a small kind of relief: Tony Dokoupil’s CBS Evening News pulled in more viewers and added ground in the coveted 25–54 demographic.
The numbers landed with clarity. CBS Evening News finished that week with 3.8 million total viewers—560,000 in the 25–54 demographic. That marked an increase of 1% in total viewers from the previous week and a sharper 14% jump in the demographic.
But the victory feeling didn’t last once the ranking came into focus. CBS Evening News still finished in a distant third place behind ABC’s World News Tonight, hosted by David Muir, and behind NBC’s Nightly News.
Last week’s standings showed the gap:
ABC’s World News Tonight: 7.66 million total viewers and 974,000 in 25–54.
NBC’s Nightly News: 6.304 million total viewers and 892,000 in 25–54.
CBS Evening News: 3.814 million total viewers and 560,000 in 25–54.
Across the competitive set, the direction of travel was uneven. Compared to the week earlier, ABC was down 2% in total viewers but increased by 1% in the 25–54 demographic. NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas closed the gap with ABC by increasing 6% in overall viewership and 12% in the demo.
When you widen the lens to year-over-year, the story keeps moving. CBS’ evening news program fell 2% overall but rose 8% in the 25–54 demographic. ABC and NBC posted bigger gains from 2025. too—World News Tonight was up 9% overall and 7% in the demo. while Nightly News was up 16% in both total viewers and the 25–54 demographic. the audience where the majority of advertisements are targeted.
Those details matter right now because CBS News is in a period of disruption beyond the studio scoreboard. The network’s year under new leadership has already included the cancellation of two scripted series. a daytime staffing shakeup. and recent firings from 60 Minutes’ staff. With that kind of turbulence in the background, ratings aren’t just trivia—they’re leverage, and they’re proof.
On the broader broadcast landscape, CBS is also watching a different kind of pressure: what happens in the morning shows. The morning shows on ABC and NBC have been back and forth. with Good Morning America and The Today Show jockeying for the No. 1 spot, while CBS Mornings remains in a distant third place. Today has led more than not. helped in part by a ratings boost in February in the days after Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother went missing. Yet when Guthrie returned to The Today Show in April. the bump didn’t land the way the show expected—Good Morning America closed the gap.
For CBS Evening News, there’s another layer people are tying directly to the late-night shakeup: both Jimmy Kimmel Live!. on ABC and Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show on NBC have seen their ratings increase since Colbert took his final bow. Jimmy Kimmel has been outspoken about CBS’s cancellation of The Late Show. saying late-night is “being poisoned” and supporting Stephen Colbert. CBS didn’t mirror that sentiment in its own numbers—at least not yet—but the timing is hard to ignore.
Still, even with Dokoupil’s recent uptick, CBS faces questions about momentum. This week’s results add viewers and improved the 25–54 demographic, but they don’t change the fact that CBS Evening News remains third behind both ABC and NBC.
There’s also recent context in CBS News itself: Dokoupil has dealt with backlash over the ouster of previous anchors John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. Stephen Colbert showed his feelings about it with his middle finger.
CBS Evening News airs at 6:30 p.m. ET weeknights on CBS. The next test will be whether these latest numbers mark more than a brief swing—whether CBS can turn an uptick into something closer to the kind of competition it’s been chasing.
CBS Evening News Tony Dokoupil ratings ABC World News Tonight David Muir NBC Nightly News Tom Llamas 25-54 demographic Jimmy Kimmel Live The Tonight Show Stephen Colbert late-night ratings