Network Switching May Not Have Been Good

Katie Couric is suffering the worst week yet as determined by the Nielsen Ratings. Was the switch from NBC to CBS a good move?

The fifth week was the toughest for Katie Couric, whose viewership on the “CBS Evening News” has dropped each week since her debut the day after Labor Day.

Her broadcast averaged 7.04 million viewers last week, third to NBC’s “Nightly News” (8.56 million) and ABC’s “World News” (7.97 million), according to Nielsen Media Research.

CBS points out that the “CBS Evening News” is the only one of the three network newscasts with more viewers last week than the same week a year earlier. NBC’s margin of victory last year was 2.2 million.

“Where we were last week or even in the weeks to come is not as important as where we are next year and even the year after that,” said CBS News President Sean McManus. “As we have said from the very beginning, we are focused on the long term and on making slow and steady progress, which we are doing.”

But the steady erosion is a discouraging sign, especially after 13.6 million people tuned in for Couric’s first broadcast.

Last week was a strong one for ABC’s “World News,” which sent anchor Charles Gibson to Amish country to follow up the school shooting story; neither Couric nor Brian Williams traveled for that story. ABC News may also have benefited from Brian Ross leading the way on the scandal involving congressional pages.

Asked whether he believed the decision to keep Couric in New York hurt CBS, Hartman said: “You can overthink things, and I’m trying not to, because it’s such a long-haul deal.” source

Popularity: 9% [?]

Network Switching May Not Have Been Good

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