60 Minutes Ratings Nosedive as Dust-Up Grabs Headlines
Mediaite • • entertainment
Key Points:
- The latest episode of 60 Minutes drew 6.061 million viewers, marking the lowest-rated episode of the season so far according to Nielsen Media Research.
- The episode featured segments from the West Bank and an interview with the Secret Service director but underperformed compared to CBS’s subsequent Sunday shows, Tracker and Marshals, which each attracted over 7 million viewers.
- Veteran correspondent Lesley Stahl reportedly considered quitting following contentious edits to her segment on Israeli settler harassment, which also sparked a tense meeting where staffers were threatened with termination if they challenged CBS News’ editorial decisions.
- This ratings decline follows a high-viewership episode on October 4 that benefited from an NFL lead-in, highlighting the impact of lead-in programming on audience size.
- The season has struggled overall, with the September debut hitting the lowest ratings since 2000, and the recent fourth episode also ranking as the lowest-rated fourth episode in over two decades.
