CBS 'Evening News' drops to third place

NEW YORK, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- The CBS "Evening News" with Katie Couric may have held the No. 1 spot last week but upon its return this week, the newscast dropped to third place in the ratings.

On Monday, Couric received much less than the 13.6 million viewers she got on her opening night. With only 7.5 million viewers she was knocked into third place, returning NBC's "Nightly News" to its first place spot, USA Today reported.

The president of CBS News, Sean McManus, said he isn't worried about Monday's loss and doesn't plan on changing the broadcast any time soon, although some changes may be inevitable because CBS is still experimenting.

Network news analyst Andrew Tyndall examined the "Evening News" and found that the show featured less "hard news," than NBC's "Nightly News" or ABC's "World News," and more features, interviews and commentary.

"We have said that we want to offer more context and perspective to the news. If that's not considered 'hard news' by critics, so be it," said McManus.