Tuesday’s much-hyped debut of “The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” scored a boffo opening for the third-ranked newscast. The launch of the first woman solo anchor attracted 13.59 million total viewers, ahead of “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” (7.76 million viewers) and ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” (7.58 million viewers).
CBS said the number was the best the “Evening News” has scored since Feb. 16, 1998, during CBS’s coverage of the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano.
Among the younger viewers (age 25-54) where CBS has trailed, Couric’s debut saw a 95 percent increase (3.9 rating vs. 2.0) from the same night a year ago.
In Denver, the rank order reflected the national trend. Preliminary overnight ratings showed Couric on CBS-owned KCNC-Channel 4 ranked No.1 with an 8.6 rating, 19 share, ahead of Williams on NBC affiliate KUSA-Channel 9 (6.1 rating, 13 share) and Gibson on ABC affiliate KMGH-Channel 7 (2.1 rating, 4.5 share). The share is the percentage of the viewing audience.
TV critic Joanne Ostrow can be reached at 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com.
