CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil posted week-to-week gains in total viewers and Adults 25-54 for the week of May 11, 2026, lifting the broadcast back above 500,000 viewers in the key demographic for the first time since the week of April 27, 2026.
The new ratings show CBS averaged 3.806 million total viewers and 503,000 Adults 25-54 viewers, up 3% in total viewers and 6% in the demo from the previous week. That made CBS the only network to improve in both measures for the week, a rare bright spot in a competitive stretch for the evening news race. ABC World News Tonight with David Muir averaged 7.889 million total viewers and 962,000 Adults 25-54 viewers, while NBC Nightly News averaged 5.97 million total viewers and 831,000 Adults 25-54 viewers.
ABC remained the evening news leader in both categories and also ranked as the No. 1 program on all of television among total viewers. NBC slipped 3% in total viewers and 8% in the demo, while ABC was down 4% in total viewers and 1% in the demo. The weekly figures cover national live+same-day big data plus program ratings measured from May 11, 2026, through May 15, 2026, with Friday broadcasts excluded from weekly and season averages.
The gains for CBS came during a week when special coverage of President Donald Trump's visit to China was part of the news environment. Dokoupil was unable to obtain a Chinese visa in time and reported from Taipei during the visit, a reminder of how field access can shape what viewers see on a given night. The network’s rise did not change the hierarchy at the top of the evening news hour, but it did show CBS moving in the right direction after several weeks of lagging below the 4 million viewer mark.
For CBS, the question is not whether it can overtake ABC in the near term. It cannot, at least not on these numbers. The more immediate significance is narrower and clearer: the evening news broadcast found some traction, reclaimed a level in the demo it had not reached since late April, and did it while the rest of the field moved backward.
