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Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Report: How CBS bosses are dealing with tanking Evening News revamp
By CBS is staying the course with its widely ridiculed dual-anchor 'Evening News' setup - despite slumping ratings. The development, confirmed by two people 'close to the show' comes four months after Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson stepped in for Norah O'Donnell. The insiders shared the details to The LA Times, days after new Nielsen numbers showed CBS Evenings is only scoring 3.637 million total viewers - down five percent from the week before and 14 percent for the year. In terms of the important 25-54 demo, the drop-off was even worse, with 482,000 viewers representing declines of 9 percent and 22 percent for those two timeframes. Moreover, much of the bleeding has been seen since February, when a former CBS News exec framed the approach as 'a disaster' in comments to Months later, the sources who spoke to The Times said management continues to support the approach - and that there are no planned changes. People who man the broadcast but were not authorized to speak on the matter added the show has already moved to shorter pieces, after the re-imagining's longer-form, more magazine-style stories fell flat. Producers are now expected to get more notes from Tom Cibrowski, the network's new president, in coming days, sources said - a little over a month after the former ABC exec was tapped to helm the embattled station. The Times piece notes how Cibrowski's old employer - the subject of a since-settled defamation suit filed by Donald Trump - is more devoted to curating content that's viewer-friendly rather than timey and poignant. Seemingly at odds with this approach are those helming the eye network's other top news show, 60 Minutes - currently the subject of a separate suit from the president that remains ongoing. Since Trump's suit was filed last fall, the show has remained persistent in its coverage of his administration and its policies. Last Sunday, longtime correspondent Scott Pelley used the once-prestigious platform to report on Trump's recent use of executive orders to hone in on law firms whom he's accused of 'weaponizing' the justice system. The segment came days after Paramount Global controlling shareholder Shari Redstone reportedly asked CBS execs to delay airing sensitive stories surrounding the president in April, and it took a decidedly critical tone. Redstone, the daughter of Sumner Redstone, was said to have asked execs to refrain until after a planned merger with Skydance Media goes through. Pelley appeared to complain to viewers about this dynamic in late April, days after the sudden, scornful resignation of longtime Executive Producer Bill Owens - the same man said to have been behind the visibly 60 Minutes-esque revamp of CBS Evenings. The longtime 60 Minutes boss was enlisted to help oversee Evening News last summer by Wendy McMahon, the CBS News and Stations CEO said to be next on the chopping block , Puck first reported following disastrous ratings seen in February. It has also spawned a ratings slump that has raised alarm bells across the industry. 'I would say it's a five-alarm fire,' a veteran television news exec further told Status on about ratings O'Donnell's replacements garnered in its initial days that have only worsened. 'It's mind boggling,' a veteran producer who spent a decade at the network further added of the strategy. 'They took the "news" out of the "Evening News!" It's not surprising the audience is leaving.' 'It's a disaster,' a former CBS News exec told at the time. 'It's been critically panned, ratings down week by week and from this time last year,' 'Owens is also overstretched and feeling the pressure with this lawsuit from Donald Trump,' the insider said, just weeks before the exec's abrupt exit . Statistics released by Nielsen during the first week of Owens and McMahon's experiment supported those theories - with total viewership down 14 percent year-over-year. The numbers released last week showed no improvement, after the former exec emphatically told 'The experiment is failing.' The 'veteran' television exec who spoke to Status said more of the same, asking incredulously, 'Why did McMahon and Owens decide to try to reinvent the "Evening News" in this challenging moment? 'Any excuse you give the audience to change their habit is a massive risk.' Owens, 58, announced he is leaving 60 Minutes on April 22, saying he was 'losing his journalistic independence.' 'So, having defended this show - and what we stand for - from every angle, over time with everything I could,' he wrote to staffers in a memo that was leaked to the New York Times. 'I am stepping aside so the show can move forward.' Owens - a respected figure who recently helped overhaul CBS's Evening News - went on to promise that '60 Minutes will continue to cover the new administration,' calling it 'too important to the country.' He had been the executive producer of the CBS newsmagazine since 2019 - the third-ever to hold the distinction. He added during a separate '60 Minutes' staff meeting attended by the show's top team members: 'It's clear the company is done with me.' Pelley, in the next 60 Minutes show to air after Owens' ouster, complained that journalists had been facing increased corporate oversight. The pending sale of parent company Paramount Global to Skydance Media requires federal approval, hence the CBS parent's hesitance to enter a legal war with the president. On Wednesday, Paramount co-Chief Executive George Cheeks sought to rally his stations' reporters in CBS's newsroom, reportedly telling them, 'This is an unprecedented, challenging time for the industry... and for our company in particular.' 'For me, what's most important as a leader is how you show up in a difficult time,' he continued. 'My biggest goal is to make sure that the team feels supported and that we recognize that we have to focus on what we can control.' 'We're going to get through this,' he went on to insist, promising to protect his 'entire team.' McMahon, meanwhile, will likely be forced out before the Skydance deal goes through, sources familiar with the talks told Puck.
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
CBS insiders reveal how spooked bosses are dealing with tanking Evening News revamp
CBS is staying the course with its widely ridiculed dual-anchor 'Evening News' setup - despite slumping ratings. The development, confirmed by two people 'close to the show' comes four months after Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson stepped in for Norah O'Donnell. The insiders shared the details to The LA Times, days after new Nielsen numbers showed CBS Evenings is only scoring 3.637 million total viewers - down five percent from the week before and 14 percent for the year. In terms of the important 25-54 demo, the drop-off was even worse, with 482,000 viewers representing declines of 9 percent and 22 percent for those two timeframes. Moreover, much of the bleeding has been seen since February, when a former CBS News exec framed the approach as 'a disaster' in comments to Months later, the sources who spoke to The Times said management continues to support the approach - and that there are no planned changes. People who man the broadcast but were not authorized to speak on the matter added the show has already moved to shorter pieces, after the re-imagining's longer-form, more magazine-style stories fell flat. Producers are now expected to get more notes from Tom Cibrowski, the network's new president, in coming days, sources said - a little over a month after the former ABC exec was tapped to helm the embattled station. The Times piece notes how Cibrowski's old employer - the subject of a since-settled defamation suit filed by Donald Trump - is more devoted to curating content that's viewer-friendly rather than timey and poignant. Seemingly at odds with this approach are those helming the eye network's other top news show, 60 Minutes - currently the subject of a separate suit from the president that remains ongoing. Since Trump's suit was filed last fall, the show has remained persistent in its coverage of his administration and its policies. Last Sunday, longtime correspondent Scott Pelley used the once-prestigious platform to report on Trump's recent use of executive orders to hone in on law firms whom he's accused of 'weaponizing' the justice system. The segment came days after Paramount Global controlling shareholder Shari Redstone reportedly asked CBS execs to delay airing sensitive stories surrounding the president in April, and it took a decidedly critical tone. Redstone, the daughter of Sumner Redstone, was said to have asked execs to refrain until after a planned merger with Skydance Media goes through. Pelley appeared to complain to viewers about this dynamic in late April, days after the sudden, scornful resignation of longtime Executive Producer Bill Owens - the same man said to have been behind the visibly 60 Minutes-esque revamp of CBS Evenings. The longtime 60 Minutes boss was enlisted to help oversee Evening News last summer by Wendy McMahon, the CBS News and Stations CEO said to be next on the chopping block, Puck first reported following disastrous ratings seen in February. It has also spawned a ratings slump that has raised alarm bells across the industry. 'I would say it's a five-alarm fire,' a veteran television news exec further told Status on about ratings O'Donnell's replacements garnered in its initial days that have only worsened. 'It's mind boggling,' a veteran producer who spent a decade at the network further added of the strategy. 'They took the "news" out of the "Evening News!" It's not surprising the audience is leaving.' 'It's a disaster,' a former CBS News exec told at the time. 'It's been critically panned, ratings down week by week and from this time last year,' 'Owens is also overstretched and feeling the pressure with this lawsuit from Donald Trump,' the insider said, just weeks before the exec's abrupt exit. Statistics released by Nielsen during the first week of Owens and McMahon's experiment supported those theories - with total viewership down 14 percent year-over-year. The numbers released last week showed no improvement, after the former exec emphatically told 'The experiment is failing.' The 'veteran' television exec who spoke to Status said more of the same, asking incredulously, 'Why did McMahon and Owens decide to try to reinvent the "Evening News" in this challenging moment? 'Any excuse you give the audience to change their habit is a massive risk.' Owens, 58, announced he is leaving 60 Minutes on April 22, saying he was 'losing his journalistic independence.' 'So, having defended this show - and what we stand for - from every angle, over time with everything I could,' he wrote to staffers in a memo that was leaked to the New York Times. 'I am stepping aside so the show can move forward.' Owens - a respected figure who recently helped overhaul CBS's Evening News - went on to promise that '60 Minutes will continue to cover the new administration,' calling it 'too important to the country. He had been the executive producer of the CBS newsmagazine since 2019 - the third-ever to hold the distinction. He added during a separate '60 Minutes' staff meeting attended by the show's top team members: 'It's clear the company is done with me.' Pelley, in the next 60 Minutes show to air after Owens' ouster, complained that journalists had been facing increased corporate oversight. The pending sale of parent company Paramount Global to Skydance Media requires federal approval, hence the CBS parent's hesitance to enter a legal war with the president. 'Owens is also overstretched and feeling the pressure with this lawsuit from [Trum]p,' an insider said, just weeks before the exec's exit. The suit, which alleges 60 Minutes 'deceptively edited' its sitdown with Kamala Harris, is holding up Paramount's merger with Skydance Also behind the revamp was CBS News chief executive Wendy McMahon (seen here with Owens this past May), who is set to lose her job as head of its news division as a result, insiders told Puck previously - predicting she will be gone before the deal goes through On Wednesday, Paramount co-Chief Executive George Cheeks sought to rally his stations' reporters in CBS's newsroom, reportedly telling them, 'This is an unprecedented, challenging time for the industry... and for our company in particular.' 'For me, what's most important as a leader is how you show up in a difficult time,' he continued. 'My biggest goal is to make sure that the team feels supported and that we recognize that we have to focus on what we can control.' 'We're going to get through this,' he went on to insist, promising to protect his 'entire team.' McMahon, meanwhile, will likely be forced out before the Skydance deal goes through, sources familiar with the talks told Puck.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rita Braver, ‘Sunday Morning' Mainstay on CBS, Plans to Retire
Rita Braver, who has logged more than half a century at CBS News and is known for her reporting on 'CBS Sunday Morning,' plans to retire from the Paramount Global news operation at the end of March, according to a memo sent to staffers Wednesday. 'In her decades at Sunday Morning, she's done it all: breaking news… soft features… political issue pieces… stories on art and theater… personality profiles…If we had a story, Rita always had the interest… and always made the time,' said Rand Morrison, the long-running series' executive producer, in the memo. More from Variety CBS Asks FCC to Dismiss 'News Distortion' Complaint Over '60 Minutes' Harris Interview as 'Blatant Interference With Free Speech' CBS News Names Tom Cibrowski President, Executive Editor CBS News Mulls Veteran Tom Cibrowski for Senior Role (EXCLUSIVE) More to come… Best of Variety The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NBCU's Cesar Conde Says 'Mobile First' Premium News Platform Being Developed For Launch In Fourth Quarter
NBCU is developing what is being described as a subscription 'mobile first' news platform in the fourth quarter of this year. Cesar Conde, chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, talked briefly of the plans at a Semafor conference, Innovating to Restore Trust In News. More from Deadline Tom Cibrowski Named President Of CBS News Gayle King, Katy Perry And Lauren Sánchez To Be Part Of All-Female Crew On Next Blue Origin Space Flight AP, Reuters And Bloomberg Warn That White House Moves To Limit Wire Service Access Threaten "An Independent, Free Press" 'We're at the point in our evolution where we think there is an opportunity in the marketplace to serve our audiences, to build a subscription tier service for NBC News proper, and to be more specific, we're in the process of developing a mobile first platform, very laser focused on premium video, premium journalistic videos, in all its shapes and forms — short form, long form and the like.' He added, 'When you look at trends and habits of audiences, it's clear audiences are more and more gravitated to consumer their news and information in video, in a variety of different capacities.' He said that they are looking at a fourth quarter launch, but said that it would not change content for the broadcast network and stations. He talked of how the media was at an 'inflection point,' but said that NBCU was diversifying its offerings across broadcast, streaming and other platforms. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery How To Watch The 2025 Oscars Online And On TV How Jon Gries' Return To 'The White Lotus' Could Shape Season 3
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NBCU's Cesar Conde Says 'Mobile First' Premium News Platform Being Developed For Launch In Fourth Quarter
NBCU is developing what is being described as a subscription 'mobile first' news platform in the fourth quarter of this year. Cesar Conde, chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, talked briefly of the plans at a Semafor conference, Innovating to Restore Trust In News. More from Deadline Tom Cibrowski Named President Of CBS News Gayle King, Katy Perry And Lauren Sánchez To Be Part Of All-Female Crew On Next Blue Origin Space Flight AP, Reuters And Bloomberg Warn That White House Moves To Limit Wire Service Access Threaten "An Independent, Free Press" 'We're at the point in our evolution where we think there is an opportunity in the marketplace to serve our audiences, to build a subscription tier service for NBC News proper, and to be more specific, we're in the process of developing a mobile first platform, very laser focused on premium video, premium journalistic videos, in all its shapes and forms — short form, long form and the like.' He added, 'When you look at trends and habits of audiences, it's clear audiences are more and more gravitated to consumer their news and information in video, in a variety of different capacities.' He said that they are looking at a fourth quarter launch, but said that it would not change content for the broadcast network and stations. He talked of how the media was at an 'inflection point,' but said that NBCU was diversifying its offerings across broadcast, streaming and other platforms. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery How To Watch The 2025 Oscars Online And On TV How Jon Gries' Return To 'The White Lotus' Could Shape Season 3
