CBS’ Norah O’Donnell still No. 3, but her ratings slide has slowed
Ratings for the new “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell are still underwater, but they may have finally hit bottom.
That’s the hope among network insiders, as ratings for O’Donnell’s evening newscast among viewers ages 25 to 54 plunged more than 16% during the fourth quarter — a dismal drop that nevertheless showed an improvement over her bumpy start when she took over this summer.
O’Donnell — who replaced former anchor Jeff Glor in July — nabbed a mere 1 million viewers in the key age range coveted by advertisers during the quarter ended Dec. 29, according to Nielsen. O’Donnell’s total viewers fell 9.6%, to 5.5 million, the firm said.
Nevertheless, CBS reps say O’Donnell’s ratings improved in early December, when the program moved from New York to Washington, DC, and Jay Shaylor joined the team as executive producer from CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.”
In its first week broadcasting from DC, the show’s total viewers jumped to 5.9 million, down 8% from a year earlier. It has since hovered in the 5.8 million range.
That’s still third place, but better than the nightly average of 5.5 million viewers in the fourth quarter overall, according to Nielsen.
A CBS News rep credited O’Donnell’s “established Washington credentials, as well as exclusive interviews that aired on the program with former Vice President Joe Biden, ousted Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.”
This fall, CBS News boss Susan Zirinsky stood by her decision to move O’Donnell off “CBS This Morning,” where she co-anchored the show alongside Gayle King for seven years.
In October, in response to weeks of plunging ratings that saw O’Donnell’s viewers ages 25 to 54 routinely drop 20% to 29%, Zirinsky told The Post that she was “extremely pleased” with the show’s quality of journalism, adding that “ratings are not the sole measure at this time.”
Last month’s move to Washington appears to be paying off, said TV analyst Andrew Tyndall.
“The most notable thing is she does a lot more features that are military-related,” said Tyndall, who pointed to O’Donnell’s upbringing in a military family. “That absolutely works with broadcasting out of DC. The Pentagon is right there. It also fits in with her own biography. It’s authentic.”
Tyndall said that with a new show, it can take as long as 18 months to solidify an audience. He pointed to “CBS This Morning,” which has held its ground, even as the network added relatively unknown anchors Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil to join King.
King’s show, also in third place behind ABC’s “Good Morning America” and NBC’s “Today,” has suffered smaller declines than its rivals in the 25-to-54 age bracket, dropping 7.3%, versus 11.7% and 8.9% at “Today” and “Good Morning America,” respectively.
“Gayle King has really made a name for herself. She has had really good interviews like the one with R. Kelly,” Tyndall said. “When it’s a personality-driven show, you don’t need more than two or three of those moments. And if you genuinely like Gayle King, you don’t need two big anchors, you only need the one.”
ABC’s “World News Tonight with David Muir,” came in first place during the fourth quarter, slipping 0.6% as it attracted 8.6 million viewers, while NBC’s “Nightly News with Lester Holt” saw total viewers dip 5.6%, to 7.9 million, although it led the 25-to-54 group, with 1.7 million.