“CBS Evening News” is getting a new companion show to go along with its new hosts. The network on Wednesday said it is launching “CBS Evening News Plus,” a half hour program that will stream online and in certain markets, beginning in January.
The new digital show will be hosted by John Dickerson, who will also be anchoring a revamped “CBS Evening News” alongside Maurice DuBois starting on Monday, January 27. Dickerson and DuBois are replacing Norah O’Donnell, who has served as the news show’s anchor since 2019.
“CBS Evening News Plus” will stream on CBS 24/7, the network’s free streaming service, at 7:00 p.m. each night, right after the evening news concludes. The new show will also be available on KCBS in Los Angeles, WFOR in Miami, KOVR in Sacramento and KPIX in San Francisco.
Wendy McMahon, president and chief executive of CBS’s news operations, praised Dickerson as a “true multiplatform” reporter in a memo to staff on Wednesday announcing the show.
“From TV to streaming… from podcasting to magazines and books … John has a command of distilling news and storylines for diverse audiences amid a firehose of information and headlines,” McMahon said. “These capabilities will fuel a lot of what we’ll see nightly on ‘CBS Evening News Plus.’”
“CBS Evening News Plus” will be executive produced by CBS newsroom veteran Alturo Rhymes, McMahon said. She added Rhymes and “CBS Evening News” producer Guy Campanile “will be putting together the team who will get the show ready for launch so keep an eye out for a few new jobs to post soon.”
The network’s effort to provide more streaming content comes as its news operation has made noteworthy gains of late. In her memo, McMahon pointed out CBS News had went from the third most streamed network in 2022 to the top-ranked broadcaster in terms of total minutes streamed.
“CBS News 24/7 minutes have grown +50% year-over-year driven by an overhauled programming strategy and leveraging our digital reach to drive streaming competition,” McMahon added. “Additionally, CBS News 24/7 has been the #1 news channel on Pluto for four consecutive months.”
