CBS News President Under Fire for Dismal Viewership

CBS News President Tom Cibrowski is under fire after “CBS Mornings” posted its lowest-rated week on record, averaging 1.59 million viewers for the week of July 13 — the first time the Gayle King- and Nate Burleson-anchored show has fallen below 1.6 million, a 13% drop from the same week last year, according to Nielsen data obtained by The NY Post.

The decline comes amid broader viewership drops across the network and lands squarely on Cibrowski, who assumed day-to-day control of the morning program this year at the direction of CBS Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, network sources said. 

Tom Cibrowski

“Tom is dead meat,” one source said, noting that all-time lows are embarrassing even if Weiss may not prioritize the show. Cibrowski and Weiss have previously clashed over the network’s direction, raising the possibility he could be held accountable if ratings keep sliding.

Critics point to Cibrowski’s failure to name a permanent third co-host after Tony Dokoupil moved to “CBS Evening News” in January, leaving a revolving cast of fill-ins that sources say has damaged the program’s cohesion. He also removed executive producer Shawna Thomas in March and installed Jon Tower on an interim basis; one source said Cibrowski is effectively running the show himself. 

Some insiders blame an ill-conceived pivot to softer “news you can use” stories aimed at Middle America — weight-loss, weather and holiday travel pieces that one source dismissed as unwanted: “People need news.” 

Another described Cibrowski as “a good man and a capable administrator” who nonetheless “has a dim view of what American audiences want at a time of so much upheaval.”

A third source pushed back, arguing Cibrowski has not been given the resources to make major hires or investments. Interim producer Tower has pushed for more investigative work from the unit led by Matt Mosk in the key 7:30 a.m. hour, but little has aired.

The latest numbers extend a rough stretch: the show already logged its lowest-rated first quarter, worst May and is on pace for its weakest June, according to previously reported Nielsen figures. “CBS Mornings” remains a distant third among network morning programs both before and during Weiss’s broader overhaul of CBS News. 

Summer typically brings the softest morning ratings industry-wide; NBC’s “Today” hit historic lows in the same period last year.

The program showed a modest rebound at the start of this week, with Monday drawing about 1.7 million total viewers and 263,000 adults 25-54 — a 34% jump in the key demographic from the prior Monday. Still, the longer-term trend poses a challenge for a franchise that supplies a sizable share of the network’s broadcast advertising revenue.