‘60 Minutes’ attracted 6.77 million viewers and around 1.1 million adults aged 25-54 on 20 September, improving on the comparable episode last year. However, its audience fell from the previous week because CBS lacked a major late-afternoon NFL lead-in, highlighting the programme’s dependence on strong football scheduling.

The episode’s interview with Patrick Clancy, whose former wife’s trial over the deaths of their three children ended with a hung jury, helped drive substantial online engagement. Social-media views reached 179.2 million, up from 116.7 million for the premiere and roughly four times last year’s figure; meanwhile, CBS’s NFL game averaged 19.35 million viewers, Fox’s main afternoon broadcast 27.21 million, and Sunday Night Football 24.3 million.