CBS News' town hall with Erika Kirk drew 1.9 million viewers on Saturday, December 13, 2025, marking a 63% increase over the previous week's holiday special in the same 8 p.m. ET slot and outperforming the network's season-to-date Saturday average by 32% in total viewers.
The one-hour special, moderated by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and featuring Erika Kirk—widow of assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk and current CEO of Turning Point USA—included discussions on grief, faith, political violence, and cross-partisan dialogue. It attracted 265,000 viewers in the key Adults 25-54 demographic.
Despite a strong lead-in from the Army-Navy football game (7.3 million viewers), the program fell short of CBS's 2025 year-to-date Saturday 8 p.m. average of 2.109 million total viewers and 449,000 in the demo, representing declines of about 10% and 41%, respectively, according to Nielsen data.
Reception was polarized: some praised it for fostering civil discourse, while critics called it underperforming given the promotion and questioned the platforming of a conservative figure. Digital clips garnered 185 million views across social platforms, CBS's most-watched interview content online.
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| Fox News' Jesse Waters and Kirk |
In comparison to recent Fox News ratings, Erika Kirk’s guest-hosting appearance on The Five delivered 3.3 million viewers at 5PM/ET on Tuesday, December 9 -- a 54% advantage over the CBS primetime town hall. Kirk’s appearance on Outnumbered as a guest co-host also beat the town hall as the show averaged 1.6 million viewers on Wednesday, December 10. Her first appearance on FNC on Monday’s episode of Hannity secured 1.9 million viewers also beating the town hall.
On average, all Kirk’s appearances last week on FNC drew 2 million viewers – well ahead of the CBS primetime town hall with CBS News chief Bari Weiss.