The turmoil at CBS News after controversial news head Bari Weiss executed a purge at “60 Minutes” newsmagazine, which culminated with the firing of popular Scott Pelley, is having a ripple effect, with network executives expressing “alarm.”
According to media watchdog Status, the immediate aftermath of Scott Pelley's firing saw "CBS Mornings" hemorrhage viewers. The show averaged 1.59 million total viewers in the days following Pelley's termination—an 11 percent drop from the 1.8 million viewers the program was already drawing, with an even more catastrophic 28 percent collapse in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 demographic.
While viewership partially rebounded in subsequent weeks, according to the report, the damage to the program's trajectory remains severe. The June 3 through June 14 period still finished down 6 percent in total viewers compared to the show's year-to-date average—a clear indication that Weiss's editorial overhaul has permanently alienated core audience segments.
The crisis is particularly acute because "CBS Mornings" is on pace for its worst-rated June ever, averaging just 1.7 million total viewers. For network executives, this represents a potential financial catastrophe, according to Oliver Darcy at Status.
While Tony Dokoupil's "CBS Evening News"—the prestige evening broadcast that Weiss personally installed Dokoupil to lead—has received the brunt of media attention, the morning show's collapse may be causing even greater anxiety in the C-suite, with Darcy reporting that broadcast networks' morning shows "generate the lion's share of advertising revenue, not the more prestigious evening newscasts."
CBS News is grappling with a broader brand image crisis under Weiss, Status is reporting. Her editorial overhaul and never-ending series of self-inflicted public relations disasters have systematically alienated the network's core audience, driving viewers away not only from programs she directly reshaped but from other corners of the news division as well.
Network executives have stressed a grim reality, telling Darcy, "... once those viewers are gone, it is very difficult to win them back."
