CBS bet big on Bari Weiss and Erika Kirk and got a face plant instead. The much hyped CBS News town hall was one of the most heavily promoted specials of the season, with weeks of teasers, primetime promos, and social clips, yet it still hemorrhaged top advertisers and only pulled about 1.9 million viewers, which Variety called one of the least watched hours in broadcast television this season. That is a disaster night for a legacy network that still expects its news brand to look serious.

On the same week, CBS Evening News drew closer to 4.5 million viewers, while even a rerun of FBI cleared over 3 million, which makes the Weiss special look like a late night infomercial in comparison. When a supposedly marquee news event that the network blasted everywhere cannot even hang with scripted filler, it tells you viewers are not buying what this new culture war flavor is selling. For advertisers, wall to wall marketing plus low ratings plus backlash is the worst of both worlds.

It is also a brutal look for a network that once carried Walter Cronkite, Edward R Murrow, Dan Rather, Connie Chung, and Katie Couric as symbols of fact first journalism. Putting Bari Weiss at the center of CBS News makes that tradition feel like a costume the network no longer fits. Every flop like this, especially one they promoted this hard, chips away at the last bits of credibility that brand still has with people who remember when CBS News meant something.

During a Saturday-night town hall led by Bari Weiss, the recently named editor in chief of CBS News, most of Madison Avenue sought an off-ramp.

The program featured an in-depth interview with Erika Kirk, the CEO of the conservative advocacy organization Turning Point USA and the widow of Charlie Kirk, the group’s former leader. He was assassinated during one of the organization’s events at Utah Valley University, throwing a harsh spotlight on the political and cultural divides present in the U.S.

The event marked a new offering from CBS News. The organization does not typically host town halls or debates on trending issues or with newsmakers. And the choice of Weiss as moderator also raised eyebrows, because in most modern TV-news organizations, senior editorial executives remain off camera, rather than appearing in front of it.

More may be on the way. During the program, Weiss told viewers that “CBS is going to have many more conversations like this in the weeks and months ahead, so stay tuned. More town halls. More debates. More talking about the things that matter.” That would suggest CBS is planning to devote more hours to the programs.

The news special aired at 8 p.m. on Saturday, one of the least-watched hours in broadcast TV. And that may have contributed to a relative dearth of top advertisers appearing to support the show. During the hour, commercial breaks were largely filled with spots from direct-response advertisers, including the dietary supplement SuperBeets; the home-repair service HomeServe.com; and CarFax, a supplier of auto ownership data. Viewers of of the telecast on WCBS, CBS’ flagship station in New York, even saw a commercial for Chia Pet, the terra-cotta figure that sprouts plant life after a few weeks.

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Direct-response advertisers typically pay lower prices in exchange for allowing TV networks to put their commercials on air when convenience allows. A flurry of the ads appearing in one program usually offers a signal that the network could not line up more mainstream support for the content it chose to air.

A more monied class of sponsors was evident during the first commercial break appearing in the 9 p.m. hour on CBS, a rebroadcast of a 2024 episode of “48 Hours.” Marketers appearing included Amazon, Ferrero Group, and Procter & Gamble. One direct-response marketer, Operation Smile, a nonprofit medical service organization, also appeared.

CBS News’ ability to line up sponsorship for the town hall may be critical, especially if the network plans to air more hours tied to the new format. And yet, if advertisers weren’t interested in the first program of this sort, will they want to associate with subsequent efforts?

Other marketers who lined up for CBS News’ Erika Kirk town hall included companies whose products and services may have dovetailed with the viewers who tuned in to see the show. Among the town hall’s sponsors were the conservative Heritage Foundation; Hallow, a mobile app for Christian prayer; “David,” a new animated film from Angel Studios, which specializes in faith-based content; and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. A small handful of more mainstream advertisers, including Spotify and TikTok, was also present.

CBS’ interest in such fare goes against the grain. TV news has become a hot potato of sorts on Madison Avenue in recent years, with marketers wary of putting their commercials in programming tied to reports on war, cultural divides, and strong-voiced monologues from partisan opinion hosts. One outlet, Fox Corp.’s Fox News, has bucked the trend in recent months, luring new advertisers to its shows as it builds a sizable live audience around its news and opinion shows.

At issue, according to media buyers and TV-sales executives, At issue, is the continuing polarization of U.S. society, and the backlash advertisers can get when consumers perceive their desire to pitch products to news audiences as support for a conservative or liberal point of view. Marketers are also nervous about having their glitzy commercials placed adjacent to segments on war in Ukraine, a growing spate of mass shootings, climate change, and debates on cultural values.