TV Ratings: Mixed Story For '60 Minutes' Episode 2

“60 Minutes” drew 6.77 million viewers Sunday for its second episode of the season, down 15% from its premiere but up 5% from the same episode a year ago, Nielsen Big Data + Panel figures released Tuesday showed.

The CBS newsmagazine also pulled 1.08 million viewers in the 25-54 demographic, a 31% week-to-week decline. The drop came without a national NFL lead-in. Last year, the second episode fell 36% from the season premiere.

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. Clancy spoke with correspondent Ross Douthat and was joined by his new wife, Dr. Rachel Danis.

The Season 59 premiere a week earlier drew 7.94 million viewers and 1.6 million in the 25-54 demo—down 21% and 33%, respectively, from last season’s debut. That episode benefited from CBS’s late-afternoon NFL coverage. Sunday’s show returned to the regular 7 p.m. slot.

The numbers highlight how much NFL scheduling still shapes “60 Minutes” ratings. The program often gets a sizable boost when a late national game leads into it.

This is the third consecutive season the second episode has drawn fewer than 7 million viewers. The show is in its first season under executive producer Nick Bilton and CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss. Bilton took over this summer.