More poor ratings and an embarrassing loss in a key demographic suggest the revamped “60 Minutes” under CBS News chief Bari Weiss continues to be a flop with viewers.
According to Status’ Oliver Darcy, Sunday’s episode averaged just 5.64 million total viewers, with only 558,000 in the 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen figures the newsletter obtained.
As Variety’s Brian Steinberg pointed out, since 2000 the sixth episode of a “60 Minutes” season had “never drawn fewer than 7 million total viewers” or fewer than 1 million in the advertiser-coveted demo.
The report notes that CBS didn’t have an NFL lead-in this weekend. Still, “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and “The Price Is Right” drew more viewers in the key demo than “60 Minutes,” to which Darcy added, “Oof.”
Darcy noted the numbers are especially bad because Weiss’ “radical overhaul of the show was supposed to improve its performance, not lead to ratings losses,” adding the caveat that it’s “early in the season” and Executive Producer Nick BiltonNick Bilton and his team could still turn things around. But a clear trend is forming in which “60 Minutes” struggles to match last season’s numbers. Inside the show, Darcy reported, this week’s ratings are being discussed, “and not in a good way.”
“Their view was that, ‘Who was Sharyn Alfonsi? Who was Cecilia Vega? This woke show! It can’t get any worse.’ And in fact, Bari and Nick and team have shown it actually can get worse,” a veteran TV executive told Darcy. “This is not a surprise to anybody who understands television or television viewing habits or the star system at ‘60 Minutes’ or how television audience work.”
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