“CBS Evening News” anchor Katie Couric may be hurting in the ratings, and there's all sorts of talk she's headed out the door, but she can console herself with one thought: A good portion of TV viewers think she should stay put.
A new Gallup Poll reports that 46 percent of respondents think Couric should not be replaced. Only a quarter think she should leave the evening newscast.
But perhaps most significant, it seems TV viewers still have a warm spot for Couric, never mind all the bad press over her sinking ratings and reportedly prickly personality.
They want her to remain on television.
If Couric did leave the evening news, 35 percent would like to see her return to morning television, where she worked for more than a decade as co-host of NBC’s top-rated “Today” show before jumping to the CBS in September 2006, according to the poll, which was done in conjunction with USA Today.
Another 28 percent would like her to become a full-time “60 Minutes” correspondent, while 17 percent think she’d make a good replacement for CNN’s Larry King some day.
The poll comes after what seems like weeks of bad news for Couric, whose viewership has plunged to all-time lows since word leaked last month that she may leave her job after the presidential election.
CBS has said it has no immediate plans to replace Couric, and network head Les Moonves even popped in on an “Evening News” staff meeting a few weeks ago in a public display of support.
Still, the speculation has persisted, especially after Couric posted back-to-back viewership lows in the two weeks after The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post broke the story.
But Couric’s fortunes may finally be turning.
Along with the encouraging poll data, Couric saw her numbers inch up for the first time in weeks. She averaged 5.77 million total viewers for the week ended May 4, up 8 percent from 5.34 million the previous week.
One problem for Couric may be that while many viewers still think favorably of her, that does not mean they are watching her. Fans of her newscast appear to be less-frequent news viewers overall than those who watch Couric’s NBC and ABC counterparts.
Gallup found that 20 percent of Brian Williams’ audience and 17 percent of Charles Gibson’s audience say they watch the evening news frequently, compared with 13 percent for Couric.
Another 23 percent of Williams’ viewers said they watch occasionally, compared with 20 percent for Gibson and 18 percent for Couric.
“It's not Katie, it's all the stupid commercials, all the same-ol, same-ol that is covered by Network TV,” writes one poster on the USA Today comment section. “I think Katie is one of the most respectable, most watchable people on TV and in the business -- but the content is the real problem, not the messenger! I watch CNN and read the news on the internet.”
Finally, some believe that Couric’s biggest problem may simply be her gender. More than a third of respondents said that public reluctance to accept a female anchor is a minor or major reason for her low ratings.
Meanwhile, while Couric’s audience was up last week, she remained well behind Williams and Gibson. NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” was first among total viewers, averaging 8.18 million, and among 25-54s with a 2.1 average rating. ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” was second in viewers, averaging 7.96 million, and among 25-54s with a 1.9 rating, while CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” was third for the week with the aforementioned 5.77 million total viewers and a 1.4 25-54 rating.
***
In other daypart ratings, for the week ended April 27, NBC’s “Meet the Press” was once again first among the Sunday morning shows in total viewers with 3.9 million tuning in and among viewers 25-54 with a 1.2 rating. ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” was second in viewers with 2.54 million but third among 25-54s with a 0.7, with CBS’s “Face the Nation” pulling 2.49 million viewers and a 0.8 among 25-54s. “Fox News Sunday” averaged 1.64 million viewers and a 0.6 rating among 25-54s.
In late night, NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” was first for the week, averaging 4.9 million total viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” and ABC’s “Nightline” tied with 3.5 million viewers and a 1.1 rating in the demo. In late-late night, NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” had 2.0 million total viewers and a 0.7 in 18-49s, with ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” at 1.7 million viewers and a 0.6, CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” at 1.6 million viewers and a 0.5, and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” bringing in 1.0 million viewers and a 0.4 among 18-49s.
In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was first with 5.5 million total viewers and a 4.3 household rating and 15 share, followed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” with 4.5 million viewers and a 3.6/13. CBS’s “Early Show” was third with 2.7 million total viewers and a 2.1/7.
CBS once again had the largest full daytime audience during the week, averaging 3.72 million viewers, but was third among women 18-49 with a 1.2 rating. NBC had the second-largest audience, averaging 2.88 million viewers, and was first among women 18-49 with a 1.5 rating. ABC had a full daytime audience of 2.87 million and was second in women 18-49 with a 1.4 rating.
|
SUNDAY MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week ending April 27, 2008
Sunday averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
|
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Adults 25-54 |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Meet the Press |
NBC |
2.9 |
8 |
1.2
|
3.903 |
|
This Week With George Stephanopoulos |
ABC |
1.9 |
5 |
0.7 |
2.535 |
|
Face the Nation |
CBS |
1.8 |
5 |
0.8 |
2.486 |
|
News Sunday |
Fox |
1.2 |
4 |
0.6 |
1.638 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
LATE-NIGHT RATINGS
Week Ending April 27, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Rtg% |
|
Tonight Show with Jay Leno |
NBC |
4.9 |
1.4 |
|
Late Show with David Letterman |
CBS |
3.5 |
1.1 |
|
Nightline |
ABC |
3.5 |
1.1 |
|
Late Night with Conan O’Brien |
NBC |
2.0 |
0.7 |
|
Jimmy Kimmel Live |
ABC |
1.7 |
0.6 |
|
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson |
CBS |
1.6 |
0.5 |
|
Last Call with
Carson Daly |
NBC |
1.0 |
0.4 |
|
Source: NTI
|
|
MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week Ending April 27, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Today |
NBC |
4.3 |
15 |
5.5 |
|
Good Morning
America |
ABC |
3.6 |
13 |
4.5 |
|
Early Show |
CBS |
2.1 |
7 |
2.7 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
DAYTIME RATINGS
Week Ending April 27, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Women 18-49 |
|
Network |
(millions) |
Rtg% |
|
CBS |
3.72 |
1.2 |
|
NBC |
2.88 |
1.5 |
|
ABC |
2.87 |
1.4 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
EVENING NETWORK NEWS RATINGS
Week Ending May 4, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
25-54s |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams |
NBC |
2.1 |
8.183 |
|
ABC World News with Charles Gibson |
ABC |
1.9 |
7.957 |
|
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric |
CBS |
1.4 |
5.769 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
|
SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 27, 2008
|
|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Syndicator |
Households |
|
US
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
|
CTD
|
7.2
|
8113
|
|
2
|
JEOPARDY
|
CTD
|
5.9
|
6709
|
|
3
|
TWO-HALF MEN-SYN (AT)
|
WB
|
5
|
5636
|
|
3
|
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
|
CTD
|
5
|
5598
|
|
5
|
JUDGE JUDY (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.7
|
5328
|
|
6
|
DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.6
|
5238
|
|
7
|
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)
|
CTD
|
4.3
|
4867
|
|
8
|
FAMILY GUY-MF-SYN (AT)
|
2/T
|
4.2
|
4772
|
|
9
|
CSI MIAMI-SYN (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.1
|
4583
|
|
10
|
SEINFELD (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.7
|
4187
|
|
11
|
SEINFELD-WKND (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.6
|
4099
|
|
12
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND
|
CTD
|
3.4
|
3833
|
|
12
|
EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN(AT)
|
CTD
|
3.4
|
3809
|
|
14
|
GEORGE LOPEZ (AT)
|
WB
|
3.2
|
3622
|
|
15
|
INSIDE EDITION
|
CTD
|
3
|
3397
|
|
16
|
LAW & ORDER:SVU-SYN (AT)
|
NBU
|
2.9
|
3323
|
|
17
|
MILLIONAIRE (AT)
|
