Newly-minted CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss saw the network’s ratings decline for her first town hall special with Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The special, which aired at 8 p.m. on Saturday, averaged 1.5 million viewers — a whopping 20% decline in viewers compared to the year-to-date average for the hour, which previously was airing a third hour of “48 Hours,” according to preliminary Nielsen ratings data released Tuesday.
For the all-important 25- to 54-year demographic, ratings tanked 44% to 237,000, the agency said.
Those numbers rose to 1.9 million with 265,000 viewers in the all-important 25- to 54-year demographic, according to final numbers from Nielsen, which combined data from broadcasters, networks and streamers.
The Erika Kirk sitdown dipped 10% in total viewership compared to the network’s standard programming in that time slot year to date – and was down 41 % in the key demo, according to The Independent, which cited Nielsen’s final ratings.
On YouTube, Weiss’ hour-long sitdown with Kirk amassed just 109,000 views as of Tuesday evening.
CBS said in its press release that the broadcast outpaced the network’s season-to-date performance in the Saturday 8:00 pm time period by 32% in viewers and by 19% in the demo.
CBS noted that compared to last week’s entertainment holiday special in the time slot, the special was up 63% in viewers, up 35% in the 25-54 demo and up 6% in among viewers 18 to 49.
The town hall also generated 185 million views on TikTok, Facebook, X and Instagram – making it CBS News’ most-watched interview ever on social media, the network said.
Nonetheless, Kirk’s various appearances on Fox News last week drew 2 million viewers on average with her guest-hosting appearance on “The Five” delivering 3.3 million viewers at the 5 pm ET time slot on Tuesday.
The town hall marked Weiss’ first appearance on a CBS broadcast since taking the helm of the storied-but-struggling news network in October.
Insiders said it is unusual for top executives at news stations to appear on their own networks, let alone conduct high-profile interviews. The special aired amid breaking news coverage of the Brown University mass shooting.
Weiss was brought in by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison to shake things up and add an anti-woke centrist flare to CBS News’ left-leaning reporting. As part of the deal to bring on Weiss, Ellison also bought her new site The Free Press, for $150 million.
Variety reported on Sunday that Weiss’ Kirk special had a dearth of mainstream advertisers.
“During the hour, commercial breaks were largely filled with spots from direct-response advertisers, including the dietary supplement SuperBeets; the home-repair service HomeServe.com; and CarFax, a supplier of auto ownership data,” the report said.
Still, the network did pull some conservative sponsors — a rarity for the network.
Those advertisers included the Heritage Foundation, Hallow, a mobile app for Christian prayer, “David,” a new animated film from Angel Studios, which specializes in faith-based content and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
A handful of more mainstream advertisers such as Spotify and TikTok also bought commercials.
