Ratings Rather Bad for CBS News: Worst Numbers in 23 Years

Globe-trotting Dan Rather returned to his anchor chair last week to find his ratings still on vacation.

“CBS Evening News” got its lowest Nielsen rating in more than 20 years last week and was in third place for an unprecedented fourth week in a row, according to figures released today.

CBS had blamed its first three weeks in third place on Rather’s absence and on the basketball playoffs. Rather had been in the Soviet Union, then Washington state, doing documentaries. He took off a third week to go fishing.

Last week, Rather was back, basketball was gone, and CBS was still third.

For the week ending June 19, “NBC Nightly News” had a rating of 10.1 and a 22 share--its 10th win in a row. ABC’s “World News Tonight” had a 9.0 and 20. The “CBS Evening News” had an 8.7 and 19.

CBS hasn’t had such a low rating since the week of July 6, 1964, when it got an 8.4.