’60 Minutes’ Sees Audience Dip Without NFL Lead-In
“60 Minutes” averaged 6.06 million viewers for an episode featuring Lesley Stahl’s report on Israeli settlers seeking to drive Palestinians from the West Bank. The report prompted a dispute between Stahl and CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss over its content, delaying promotion and adding to scrutiny of the programme as CBS seeks to show stability after a major overhaul.
The audience was 12% lower than the comparable episode last season and nearly 41% below the previous week, when a record-setting NFL game provided a lead-in. Viewers aged 25 to 54 averaged 767,000, down nearly 19% year on year and 62% from the previous week; competing NFL coverage may have contributed. The episode also included an interview with Secret Service leaders and a profile of musician Jon Batiste, and its audience grew as it aired.
- The episode averaged 6.06 million viewers.
- Viewership fell nearly 41% from the NFL-boosted previous week.
- Stahl’s West Bank report became the focus of an editorial dispute.
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60 Minutes is a long-running US television news programme on CBS, known for interviews and filmed reports on current affairs. Lesley Stahl is one of its veteran correspondents, while Bari Weiss is CBS News’s editor in chief.
The programme’s audience can vary depending on what airs before it. NFL games often lead into Sunday evening broadcasts, bringing viewers who may stay for the news programme; comparisons between weeks can therefore reflect both the reports themselves and the changing television schedule.
CBS has recently undergone a major overhaul and is seeking to demonstrate stability. Disputes over a report’s content can draw attention to how editorial decisions are made, while audience figures offer one measure of the programme’s reach.