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CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell moderated the network’s Vice Presidential Debate earlier this month, alongside Face the Nation’s Margaret Brennan.
And it appears as if the high-profile debate — watched by more than 40 million — has paid off as the network newscast has seen a ratings uptick in the coveted Adults 25-54 demographic since the debate.
In the weeks leading up to the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate, the newscast fluctuated between 599,000 and 632,000 viewers in the key demographic.
Since the October 1st debate between Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), CBS Evening News has featured an average audience of 639,000. Viewership from that demographic reached 686,000 viewers during the week of October 14th.
Despite the ratings gains, the program anchored by Norah O’Donnell is still in third place in both the Adults 25-54 demographic and total viewers.
During the week of October 14th, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir averaged 7.3 million total viewers and just over 1 million from the key demo. NBC Night Nightly News with Lester Holt was second with 5.7 million viewers and 816,000 from the Adults 25-54 demographic. The CBS news program featured 4.4 million total viewers.
Norah O’Donnell is set to exit the anchor chair of the CBS Evening News after the 2024 presidential election concludes. John Dickerson, Maurice DuBois, and Brennan will all anchor the nightly newscast, which is moving to New York after O’Donnell’s exit.
