Eva Pilgrim made a strong debut as anchor of “Inside Edition” with an average of 3 million viewers tuning in for her first week on air, TheWrap can reveal exclusively.
Pilgrim, who succeeded previous anchor Deborah Norville, also brought in an impressive audience among women, with her first week hosting scoring “Inside Edition’s” highest rating among women 18-49 in 48 weeks with a 0.34 rating, as well as the show’s highest ratings among women 25-54 in 19 weeks with a 0.48 rating, according to Nielsen.
Pilgrim’s first week hosting saw double digit growth among younger women when compared to the show’s previous four-week average, with viewership among women 18-49 up 17% while women 25-54 were up 9%. Additionally, Pilgrim’s first week saw a 5% lift among adults 18-49, a 1% increase among adults 25-54 and a 1% uptick in total viewers.
The growth is especially impressive considering the program was preempted by sports on Friday, Aug. 22, including in New York and Los Angeles, which pushed “Inside Edition” to late fringe.
Season to date, “Inside Edition,” which hails from CBS Media Ventures, is the No. 1 newsmagazine program in terms of total viewers with an average 3.08 million total viewers, beating its closest competitor, “Access Hollywood” by 212%. “Inside Edition” is also currently outpacing all network morning news programs this season in total viewers, including “CBS Mornings,” “Good Morning America,” “GMA3: What You Need to Know,” “The Today Show,” “Today Show Third Hour,” “Today With Jenna & Friends” and “NBC News Daily.”
Pilgrim, who is best known for co-anchoring “GMA3: What You Need to Know” and serving as the network’s senior national correspondent, was tapped to take over for Norville, who exited the show after 30 years in April.
“We feel like we won the jackpot to have Eva join our team as the next anchor of ‘Inside Edition,’” EP Charles Lachman said in a statement at the time. “She has solid news chops from her years as a reporter and anchor in national and local news, plus a warm relatability that resonates with audiences. We look forward to having a journalist of her caliber take ‘Inside Edition’ into its next chapter.”
