CBS News’ “60 Minutes” drew 10.2 million viewers for its latest episode Sunday, according to final Nielsen ratings — edging out the comparable broadcast from last season and marking the show’s biggest audience of the new season.
The news magazine narrowly topped the 10.15 million viewers who tuned in for the comparable episode a year ago, according to Nielsen data.
The latest numbers represent a rebound from the first two episodes of the season.
The Sept. 13 premiere drew 7.935 million viewers in final Nielsen Big Data + Panel ratings — down 21% from the 10.03 million who watched last year’s season opener.
The second episode drew nearly 6.8 million viewers, slightly ahead of the 6.45 million audience for the comparable installment last season.
That broadcast, which featured a heavily promoted interview with Patrick Clancy, also improved year over year in the key 25-to-54 demographic, drawing 1.1 million viewers compared with 917,000 a year earlier.
The latest 10.2 million showing is the highest-rated “60 Minutes” episode so far this season, according to the Nielsen figures.
The ratings are being closely watched during the first full season under CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who hired Nick Bilton as the program’s executive producer in May as the network axed veteran staff.
The ratings rebound comes as Weiss’ own future at CBS News remains unsettled.
The Post reported last week that Skydance CEO David Ellison is weighing possible changes to her role in the wake of the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
Those changes could include narrowing Weiss’ focus to editorial matters rather than the broader management responsibilities she was handed when she became editor-in-chief last year, sources close to the situation told The Post.
The Post also reported that Weiss’ tenure has been marked by friction over management and personnel decisions, including her overhaul of “60 Minutes.”
Still, sources said Ellison and his father — Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who dipped into his own coffers to seal the mega-merger — continue to view Weiss as a talented editor with strong news judgment and valuable connections.
Nothing about Weiss’ role has been finalized, however, and sources told The Post that a decision is not expected until after the merger closed on Tuesday.
Weiss had at one point been penciled in for a broader role that could have included CNN, The Post previously reported, but that path became less clear on the home stretch of the merger.
CNN chief Mark Thompson, meanwhile, is set to remain as the network’s chairman and editor-in-chief and report directly to David Ellison.
The Post reported that Weiss will stay in her current role at CBS News for now, while sources said the company could eventually consider putting CNN and CBS News under a single executive.
The Post has sought comment from CBS News.
Credit: Source link
