“60 Minutes” drew 6.77 million viewers for its second episode of the season Sunday, down 15% from its season premiere, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel figures released Tuesday. The CBS newsmagazine also brought in 1.08 million viewers in the key 25-54 demo, down 31% week over week.
But the declines came without the benefit of a national NFL lead-in on CBS. Compared with last season’s second episode, “60 Minutes” was up 5% in total viewers. The week-to-week drop was also smaller than last year, when the newsmagazine fell 36% from its season premiere to its second episode, compared with a 15% decline this season.
Sunday’s broadcast featured a heavily promoted interview with Patrick Clancy, whose ex-wife Lindsay Clancy was charged with killing their three children in 2023. Her trial ended in a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict on whether she was criminally responsible for the killings.
Clancy spoke with correspondent Ross Douthat about the case and its aftermath and was joined by his new wife, Dr. Rachel Danis.
The sophomore episode followed a Season 59 premiere that drew 7.94 million viewers, down 21% from last season’s debut. The premiere also drew 1.6 million viewers in the 25-54 demo, a 33% year-over-year decline.
That episode benefited from CBS’ late-afternoon NFL coverage, while Sunday’s episode returned “60 Minutes” to its regular 7 p.m. time slot.
The latest numbers underscore how much NFL scheduling can affect “60 Minutes,” which often gets a sizable audience boost when CBS has a late-afternoon national game leading into the newsmagazine.
“60 Minutes” is in its first season under executive producer Nick Bilton and CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss, part of a new era for the long-running newsmagazine. Bilton took over the program this summer.
Sunday’s 6.77 million viewers marked the third consecutive season in which the second episode of “60 Minutes” drew fewer than 7 million viewers, even as the program improved 5% from the comparable episode last year.
