Tony Dokoupil is pushing back.
The “CBS Evening News” anchor, who has been under intense scrutiny since taking the role in early January, led the signature CBS newscast to an audience of a little more than 4 million during the five-day period ended May 22, according to Nielsen — the first time in weeks the show has captured that level of audience.
The program also notched 605,000 viewers in the advertiser-favorite demographic of people between 25 and 54. The previous week’s “CBS Evening News” captured around 3.8 million viewers and 482,000 in the demographic.
Make no mistake: “CBS Evening News” remains well behind its two main rivals, ABC’s “World News Tonight” and NBC’s “NBC Nightly News.” But at least it’s showing signs of regaining some ground.
ABC’s “World News Tonight” continues to lead the sector handily, with nearly 8.2 million overall viewers and 966,000 in the demo. “NBC Nightly News” won nearly 6.1 million viewers, and 867,000 in the demo.
