CBS News’ “60 Minutes” attracted an audience of 10.2 million viewers for its latest episode on Sunday, according to final Nielsen ratings. This slight increase puts it ahead of the same episode from last season, marking the show’s largest viewership of the current season.
This new figure surpasses the 10.15 million viewers who watched last year’s comparable episode, per Nielsen data.
The show appears to be recovering from a slow start in the initial episodes this season.
The premiere on September 13 managed to pull in 7.935 million viewers, which was a 21% drop from the 10.03 million who tuned in the previous year for the season opener.
The second episode saw nearly 6.8 million viewers, a slight increase over the 6.45 million who watched the same episode the prior season.
This particular broadcast included a highly promoted interview with Patrick Clancy and also showed improvement in the crucial 25-to-54 demographic, attracting 1.1 million viewers compared to 917,000 the previous year.
With 10.2 million viewers, this episode is now the highest-rated “60 Minutes” of the season thus far, as reported by Nielsen.
The ratings are particularly noteworthy as this is the first full season under CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who appointed Nick Bilton as the program’s executive producer earlier this year after making significant staff changes.
The upward trend in viewership comes amidst uncertainty regarding Weiss’ future at CBS News.
Reports surfaced recently that Skydance CEO David Ellison may be considering adjustments to her role following the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.
It’s said that these changes could involve narrowing Weiss’ focus to editorial duties rather than the wider management responsibilities she took on when she became editor-in-chief last year, according to sources.
Despite some friction over management and personnel decisions, including her approach to revamping “60 Minutes,” sources indicate that both Ellison and his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, still see Weiss as a talented editor with strong news instincts and valuable connections.
However, no definitive changes to Weiss’ position have been made, and a decision is not anticipated until after the merger has finalized.
There were discussions about Weiss potentially taking on a broader role, possibly involving CNN, but that prospect became less certain towards the end of the merger process.
Meanwhile, CNN’s chief Mark Thompson will continue in his role as chair and editor-in-chief, reporting directly to David Ellison.
Weiss is expected to remain in her current position at CBS News for the time being, but there might be considerations in the future to have CNN and CBS News operated under a single executive.
The Post has reached out to CBS News for comments.
