New CBS boss Bari Weiss punts town hall after Erika Kirk interview draws dismal ratings
CBS News staffers were spared an end-of-the-year all-hands meeting with the head of the news division after a much-hyped town hall with Erika Kirk, widow of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, produced poor ratings and criticism from a conservative news outlet.
Bari Weiss, the former New York Times opinion writer appointed by Donald Trump-friendly Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison to oversee CBS News editorial direction, personally hosted the town hall with Kirk on Saturday night. Her decision to conduct the interview herself, rather than utilize existing CBS on-air journalists, initially drew skepticism.
Despite extensive promotional efforts, the broadcast failed to attract substantial viewership. According to Nielsen ratings data reported by Justin Baragona, the Kirk interview drew approximately 1.5 million viewers, representing an 11 percent decline in total viewership compared to CBS's standard programming for that time slot throughout 2025. The key demographic age 25-54 saw a 41 percent drop.
Saturday nights at 8 p.m. ET typically represent one of broadcast television's lowest-watched prime time hours. However, CBS has generally averaged at least 2 million viewers during that slot over the past year, with 2.109 million total viewers and 449,000 in the target demographic throughout 2025.
Following the disappointing ratings, Weiss canceled a planned all-hands town hall previously scheduled for this month, according to media watchdog Status reporter Natalie Korach.
"According to multiple people familiar with the matter, Weiss decided not to hold the previously planned internal town hall this month, opting instead to push it to the new year. The decision came just as the network was grappling with underwhelming ratings for a broadcast it had heavily promoted as a signal of its new editorial direction."
The New York Post amplified the embarrassment with coverage stating, "Bari Weiss' town hall with Erika Kirk saw ratings plummet as CBS News editor-in-chief debuts on-screen." The negative coverage proved particularly damaging, especially given that CBS's sub-2 million prime-time audience followed the Army-Navy football game, which had averaged 7.3 million viewers in the preceding hours.