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Ratings Roundup: CBS Evening News Sees Uptick In Final Weeks of Norah O’Donnell Era, CNN Sees Bounceback After Record Lows

Garrett Searight
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Ratings Roundup: CBS Evening News Sees Uptick In Final Weeks of Norah O’Donnell Era, CNN Sees Bounceback After Record Lows

The Lead

Norah O’Donnell is set to exit the anchor chair of CBS Evening News later this month. And despite the show lagging behind competitors ABC World News Tonight with David Muir and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt for the duration of her tenure, the show saw a slight increase at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025.

For the week of December 30th, CBS saw a 5% increase in total viewers, up to 4.4 million, according to figures from Nielsen. Coverage of the New Year’s Eve attack in New Orleans, along with the news that former President Jimmy Carter had died, led many news programs during the week.

In the Adults 25-54 demographic, the show anchored by Norah O’Donnell was up 8% compared to the previous week. It garnered 638,000 viewers in that key demo.

For the week, Muir’s newscast led in total viewers with 7 million. Holt’s NBC News program finished with 6 million. However, the audience size in the Adults 25-54 demographic was a much closer race. ABC World News Tonight averaged 886,000 viewers compared to the 842,000 who watched NBC Nightly News.

Norah O’Donnell is slated to leave the anchor chair of CBS Evening News on Friday, January 24th. She will be replaced by a trio of Margaret Brennan, John Dickerson, and Maurice DuBois after the program relocates to New York.

CNN Bounces Back After Record Low Viewership

Both CNN and MSNBC had seen significant drops in viewership after the 2024 presidential election concluded. CNN especially had noticed the dip, with some metrics dropping to record lows in the weeks after Donald Trump was elected. However, the network had a strong bounceback during the final days of December and first few days of January.

The network saw an 87% increase in total primetime audience during the week of December 30th. CNN averaged 519,000 total viewers in primetime for the week. New Year’s Eve coverage anchored by Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen led all of cable television in the primetime window on the year’s final day, as 1.9 million viewers tuned in. That large audience undoubtedly lifted the network to a total day finish of fourth in total cable TV viewers for the week.

In the Adults 25-54 demographic, the uptick was even higher, as viewership grew 186%, with and average of 126,000 viewers from the demo watching primetime coverage on CNN during the week.

Fox News commanded 57% of the total day cable news audience share during the week, with that figure rising to 58% in primetime. Elsewhere in the primetime cable news ratings, CNN held 17%, while MSNBC was close behind with 15%. Newsmax held 8% of the total audience, with NewsNation accounting for 3%.

Cable News Commands 3 of the Top 5 Most-Watched Networks

Fox News finished the week of December 30th as the second most watched network on cable in the total day category behind ESPN, which saw several high-profile college football broadcasts on its network.

An average of 1.3 million viewers tuned into Fox News. CNN was fourth with an average audience of 396,000. MSNBC was close behind in fifth with an average of 390,000.

Joining the cable networks in the top five was Hallmark Channel, which earned a third-place showing with an average of 461,000 total viewers in the total day category.

In primetime, Fox News remained in second place with an average of 1.7 million viewers. CNN dropped to seventh with 519,000, while MSNBC was ninth with 445,000 total viewers.

Newsmax was 26th (172,000) and 28th (234,000) in total day and primetime figures, respectively. NewsNation averaged 50,000 total viewers in the total day ratings and an audience of 77,000, on average, in the primetime ratings.

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The Broadcasters Foundation of America Has Funds Available For So Cal Broadcasters

BMM Staff
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The Broadcasters Foundation of America Has Funds Available For So Cal Broadcasters

The Broadcasters Foundation of America (BFOA) reminds broadcasters in Southern California impacted by the wildfires that funds are available for those who qualify.

“We have set aside Emergency Grant Dollars to provide financial assistance to broadcasters in LA who are in need,” stated Tim McCarthy, President of the Broadcasters Foundation.

BFOA is using a streamlined process to quickly get the aid into the hands of those approved, usually within weeks.

An emergency number has been set up at 212.373.8250. Broadcasters can apply online here.

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Al Michaels ‘Leaning Heavily’ Towards Returning in 2025-26

BSM Staff
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Al Michaels ‘Leaning Heavily’ Towards Returning in 2025-26

Al Michaels has called football for 38 seasons and says he’s “leaning towards” coming back for a 39th, according to an interview with the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch. The legendary football voice says he’s healthy, Amazon wants him back, and he loves his co-workers, so he has no reason to hang them up right now.

“I am leaning very heavily [towards staying,] Michaels said via The Athletic. “I want to make sure, number one, I’m healthy enough, which I am right now. I want to make sure I still have the passion for it, and I know I do. I also love the people I’m working with. Not only Kirk and Kaylee Hartung, who I work with in the game presentation, but I love our pregame people…I still get excited walking into a stadium. I still love to do what I do. So why walk away?”

Many in sports media speculated that Michaels would retire following this NFL season, as his contract with Amazon ends at that time. While Michaels didn’t mention any details about a new deal, he said management is on board with it and looks forward to getting a new deal done before next season.

“Management is in favor of it, and they have been great, top to bottom,” Michaels said. “Andy Jassy (Amazon’s CEO) is a huge sports fan. I think he actually owns a small piece of the Seattle Kraken hockey team. His father grew up as a New York Rangers fan in my era. When you have that support from the top of the top, which Andy is, that makes it so much better for everybody else, and it works its way all the way down through the show, and we can all feel it.”

Michaels also touched on the sports media story of the past few years — Tom Brady on FOX. Michaels was supportive of the longtime NFL QB, saying that much of his criticism comes from those who are “jealous” of him. 

“Jealousy is a very potent human emotion, and there are a lot of people that want to see Tom fail because Tom has everything, right?” Michaels said. “He’s got the resume in football. He lives a life that a lot of people would like to live. So he is going to take a lot of heat. My personal opinion… I think he’s done a very good job, and I think he’s gotten better and better, and I very much enjoy listening to him. He’s working terrifically well with Kevin Burkhardt, and I think they make a really good combination. I’m a fan. Knowing Tom, as I have through the years as a player and as a friend, he is going to work his ass off…He knows enough ways to figure out what’s going on.”

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Facebook Exec to Erick Erickson: Utilizing Community Notes ‘Much More Reliable’ Than Third Party Fact-Checkers

BNM Staff
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Facebook Exec to Erick Erickson: Utilizing Community Notes ‘Much More Reliable’ Than Third Party Fact-Checkers

Earlier this week, Facebook announced it would shift its policy away from utilizing third-party fact-checkers to a format more closely resembling that utilized by X. One of its executives shared more details with Erick Erickson.

Joel Kaplan, Facebook’s Vice President of Global Public Policy, joined The Erick Erickson Show to discuss why the company made its decision.

“We didn’t want to become the arbiters ourselves,” Kaplan said about the new policy. “But the problem over time, the experience we had … is that there was too much political bias. And in terms of choosing what to fact-check, and then in how they’re fact-checked, we’ve just seen, over time, too much political bias get involved. So we decided we’re just going to scrap that program entirely.

“Instead of relying on this group of so-called experts who have their own biases, like everybody else, we’re going to rely on our community of users. It’s an innovation that X has deployed over the last couple of years, community notes. And we just think crowd-sourcing is good. Crowdsourcing this kind of assessment of what’s true and what’s not, what’s accurate and what’s not, is a much more reliable way. That is going to build trust in a way that the fact-checking system simply didn’t.”

The decision by the company has been hotly contested by critics, who argue the plan makes finding verifiable information more difficult on the platform. Others have claimed the company made the decision in an effort to placate incoming President Donald Trump.

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Emmanuel Acho Forced to Evacuate Home Amid Los Angeles Wildfires

BSM Staff
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Emmanuel Acho Forced to Evacuate Home Amid Los Angeles Wildfires

At least 130,000 residents are under evacuation orders as wildfires burn across Los Angeles County, destroying more than 2,000 structures and causing at least five deaths. Emmanuel Acho opened the Thursday edition of The Facility revealing that he had to evacuate his home on Wednesday night because of the fire in the Hollywood Hills area. Producers of the show have had to evacuate their houses as well, and some were working from home on Wednesday. Acho articulated that akin to a real football facility, real-world problems sometimes enter the environment rather than laughs and jokes.

“There have been fires, there has been devastation, there has been catastrophe, there has been calamity,” Acho said. “So please send your thoughts, send your prayers to any loved ones, any family and any strangers that you might even consider thinking about in the LA, the Hollywood Hills, the Palisades, Pasadena, Malibu, and all of those areas.”

Acho shared a video he took as he was driving home where he explained that Los Angeles was “literally on fire” and showed a view of the flames from afar. Before the program transitioned into discussion surrounding football, he re-emphasized that the show discusses sports and has fun but said that he wanted the show to recognize what is taking place in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Moreover, he acknowledged that moving on from the topic was not an easy transition to make but that he would nonetheless try to do so.

As firefighters try to contain five different fires in the region, the sports and entertainment world has been affected in a variety of ways. The Los Angeles Kings postponed their Wednesday night home game at Crypto.com Arena, the taping for late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! was postponed and the Critics Choice Awards ceremony was moved to later in the month. Moreover, Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick revealed that his family evacuated their home. LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has also stepped away from the team to be with his family amid these cataclysmic outbreaks.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.

Barstool’s Dave Portnoy Attacks Dan Le Batard for Jon Gruden Comments

BSM Staff
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Barstool’s Dave Portnoy Attacks Dan Le Batard for Jon Gruden Comments

Never one to shy away from conflict, Barstool Sports boss Dave Portnoy is defending one of his own from another pirate ship captain for insinuating he shouldn’t get a new job. On the Thursday, Jan. 9 edition of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, host Dan Le Batard commented on the news that former Raiders head coach and new Barstool Sports employee Jon Gruden could return to the organization for a third time.

“Jon Gruden, his name being mentioned near anything should cause shame eternally for everyone involved with that league,” Le Batard said. “The idea that he can be recycled into something after what was done publicly…but that guy with those crimes going right to the top of the food chain again for the top of the jobs…because the way to do all this stuff is to just be on television, one of these football teams will think that’s enough.”

Portnoy took offense to the word “crimes” being used and took to X to retaliate.

Gruden resigned from the Raiders during his second stint as coach back in 2021 when private emails to former Washington Commanders executive Bruce Allen were leaked. In those emails, Gruden made many homophobic, racial, and misogynistic comments in casual conversation, including some directed at NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. 

For now, it seems that both sides aren’t interested in continuing this conflict, but eyes will be on Le Batard’s Friday show to see if any words are aimed in Portnoy’s direction.

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Mike Keith to Call Tennessee Volunteers Football and Men’s Basketball, Leaving Tennessee Titans

BSM Staff
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Mike Keith to Call Tennessee Volunteers Football and Men’s Basketball, Leaving Tennessee Titans

The University of Tennessee Vol Network has announced that radio play-by-play announcer Mike Keith is returning to his alma mater to serve as the new voice of Volunteers football and men’s basketball games. Keith moves to the college institution after spending 27 seasons in the radio booth for Tennessee Titans football, and in addition to calling the aforementioned live sports, he will also be involved in several new programming initiatives to be revealed later in the year. The move comes as longtime announcer Bob Kesling prepares to retire following the basketball season after calling Volunteers games for a quarter century.

“When we discussed potential candidates, one name topped our list without question: bringing Mike and his family back to Rocky Top,” Danny White, vice chancellor and director of athletics at the University of Tennessee, said in a statement. “He is a true icon in the broadcasting industry, and we are excited to harness Mike’s exceptional skill set to further elevate both the Vol Network and Tennessee Athletics in bold, innovative ways.”

Keith started his career in Knoxville, Tenn. where he called Volunteers baseball games and also hosted Sportstalk, a local afternoon sports talk show on WIVK/WNOX Radio. Moreover, he also worked in various roles with the Vol Network for 11 years and has won the Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year award 12 times. Keith is a member of five Halls of Fame, has garnered more than 20 awards from the Associated Press and won the Eward R. Murrow Award for nationwide excellence in reporting in 1997. Keith is synonymous for his call of “The Music City Miracle,” referencing a last-second touchdown that resulted in the Titans defeating the Buffalo Bills in a playoff game.

“While it is very hard to say goodbye to the Tennessee Titans, it is not hard to say ‘yes’ to a return to the University of Tennessee and the Vol Network,” Keith said in a statement. “Alicia Longworth laid out a very exciting plan for how I can assist the talented VFL Films content team. Steve Early has continued to make me feel a part of the Vol Network family since I left Knoxville in 1998—it was like I never left. Everyone associated in this process has been very professional, very impressive and very kind. 

“This continued a theme from a series of experiences that I have had over the last five years when dealing with anyone—athletics, University and Campus leadership, staff, faculty, students, etc.—-from the University of Tennessee. Everyone is just top-notch, and I mean EVERYONE. I am excited to join this entire team in hopes that I can add a solid contribution. It is great to be a Tennessee Volunteer, especially in 2025!”

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Former WTOP Reporter Derrick Ward Dies

BNM Staff
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Former WTOP Reporter Derrick Ward Dies

Former WTOP reporter Derrick Ward has died at the age of 62 following complications from a cardiac arrest, the reporter’s family has announced.

Ward worked at WTOP, and other radio outlets like WAMU and WPFW, before joining the list of general assignment reports for NBC Washington in 2006.

In a statement, Ward’s family said that he died on Tuesday.

“As a distinguished journalist, Derrick’s storytelling, prolific writing, warmth, and humor touched countless lives. Our children and our entire family will miss him dearly,” the statement read. “We ask for your thoughts and prayers during this time, and we extend our gratitude to everyone for the outpouring of love and support.”

WTOP President Joel Oxley released a statement following the announcement of Ward’s death.

“Derrick Ward was truly an outstanding journalist,” said Oxley. “His passion and dedication shown through every day. But what set him apart was what a great person he was. His warmth and caring were evident at every turn. Everybody liked Derrick. I saw why right away. He’ll be missed tremendously.”

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‘WWE RAW’ Hits 4.9 Million Global Views for Netflix Debut

BSM Staff
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‘WWE RAW’ Hits 4.9 Million Global Views for Netflix Debut

WWE’s flagship program isn’t worried about moving off linear television, as the company reported WWE RAW reached 4.9 million global views during its Netflix debut on Monday night. The show averaged 2.6 million households in the United States, up 116 percent from its average 2024 audience of 1.2 million households while it still aired on USA Network.

The latest figure was higher than any RAW broadcast from the past five years. Note that these figures do not include viewing in 92 countries/territories where Netflix doesn’t yet distribute WWE, which includes France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, and South Korea.

The event was also the highest-grossing WWE arena event of all time. It was a sold-out live show airing from Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome, the new home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers. The company also boasted that #WWERaw trended at number one on X in the United States, Brazil, Australia, and the UK, where it stayed at the top spot for 14 hours straight. The show also occupied six of the top seven trending topics in the U.S.

Almost one year ago, WWE and Netflix agreed to a monumental 10-year, $5 billion deal that would move RAW off of linear television for the first time in its history to stream exclusively on the digital platform. As part of its new rights deals, SmackDown would move to USA Network, while NXT would move to The CW.

A report from Sports Business Journal divulged that WWE and Netflix are not using U.S.-based Nielsen data, citing differences in measurements. WWE and Netflix define “views” as the “total view hours for the program divided for the runtime.” Data from VideoAmp indicates that WWE RAW reached 2.76 million U.S. homes, higher than any broadcast of the property in the last five years.

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ESPN Announces MegaCast Plans for College Football Playoff Semifinals

BSM Staff
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ESPN Announces MegaCast Plans for College Football Playoff Semifinals

ESPN is bringing back its signature MegaCast presentation of games within the semifinal round of the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. The company will present various offerings during both matchups in the round, the first of which takes place on Thursday, Jan. 9 at the Capital One Orange Bowl. No. 7 Notre Dame will face No. 6 Penn State from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. with a spot in the National Championship Game on the line. Commentators for the main telecast airing on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. EST will feature play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough, analyst Greg McElroy and reporters Molly McGrath and Katie George. The last semifinal iteration of the Capital One Orange Bowl in 2021, which took place in December 2021, averaged 17.2 million viewers on ESPN.

The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic will take place from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas as No. 8 Ohio State faces No. 5 Texas, the winner of which will compete against the previous day’s victor in the National Championship Game. Taking part in the main telecast on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. EST is play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler, analyst Kirk Herbstreit and reporters Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge. The last semifinal edition of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in 2021 averaged 16.6 million viewers on ESPN.

The primary telecasts for both games will utilize over 50 cameras in the stadiums situated to provide distinct vantage points for the audience. Cameras will be situated on the goal posts, goal lines and inside all eight end zone pylons. Additionally, three referees will have wearable MindFly BodyCams and wireless handheld cameras will be utilized for on-field celebration after scoring plays.

Viewers can also see up to four different perspectives at any time on the Command Center presentation on ESPNU or watch the game above the gridiron on ESPNEWS with the SkyCast. Consumers can utilize the ESPN App to view the aforementioned presentations, along with the All-22 accompanied by the ESPN Radio call of the games. Halftime marching band performances will also air on the ESPN App with the All-22 view.

Airing on ESPN2 during both games will be Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show, an alternate broadcast returning for its third consecutive season. The sports talk show cast will be on hand for the games, including Pat McAfee, A.J. Hawk, Darius Butler, Connor Campbell, Ty Schmit and Anthony DiGuilio. During the quarterfinal broadcast of the Rose Bowl Game, the presentation averaged 2.4 million viewers, the most-viewed alternate broadcast in ESPN history. McAfee’s program will air live from Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday ahead of the Capital One Orange Bowl.

A variety of radio commentary teams will be on the air for both games from national and local networks. Both games will air on ESPN Radio and include a roster of experienced commentators providing insights and analysis surrounding the action. The Capital One Orange Bowl will feature Dave Pasch, Roddy Jones, Kris Budden and Taylor McGregor on the broadcast. For the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, the commentary team will consist of Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer, Ian Fitzsimmons and Quint Kessenich. Spanish language calls of the action will be available through ESPN Deportes and the ESPN App for both matchups as well.

Fans will also be able to tune in for Hometown Radio broadcasts of the action with local commentary teams from all four competing schools synced to the Command Center presentation. Using the ESPN App during the Capital One Orange Bowl, consumers can listen to the Notre Dame Football Radio Network with Tony Simeone and Ryan Harris or the Penn State Sports Network with Steve Jones, Jack Ham and Brian Tripp.

The Ohio State Sports Network Powered by LEARFIELD will air on the ESPN App for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic with Paul Keels, Jim Lachey, Matt Andrews and Skip Mosic. The SEC Network will air the Longhorn Radio Network Powered by LEARFIELD with Craig Way, Roger Wallace and Will Matthews.

Special editions of College GameDay will air from both semifinal locations at 6 p.m. EST ahead of game action featuring the cast of Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban with contributions from Pete Thamel and ‘Stanford Steve’ Coughlin. Furthermore, the SEC Network will air studio programming from Texas as the Longhorns compete for the National Championship, including two on-site editions of The Paul Finebaum Show. Rutledge will host SEC Nation on Friday at 6 p.m. EST ahead of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and SEC Football Final will conclude the day’s on-site programming.

ESPN will also present various digital offerings on its platforms, such as Countdown to the CFP Semifinals with Christine Williamson, Harry Douglas and Harry Lyles Jr. live from Hard Rock Stadium on Jan. 9 at 6:30 p.m. EST. Matt Simms, Sam Ravech and Skubie Mageza star on the postgame digital show, The Wrap-Up, concluding each round from the ESPN studios on Jan. 10. Moreover, Gary Striewski and Randy Scott will co-host the final episode of this season’s edition of The Kickoff on Jan. 17 at 11 a.m. EST.

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