From Variety · Brian Steinberg · · 1m 30s
60 Minutes premiere drops 21%, and the NFL isn't the only suspect
The newsmagazine lost 2 million viewers on opening night, and a weaker football lead-in may not explain all of it.
In brief
The newsmagazine lost 2 million viewers on opening night, and a weaker football lead-in may not explain all of it. A softer NFL lead-in hurt, but the steep drop among younger adults and the slide during the episode mean CBS still has to show its overhaul didn't drive viewers away. Originally reported by Variety.
Premiere loses 2 million viewers
The season 59 opener drew about 7.94 million viewers, down 21% from nearly 10.02 million at last year's premiere, according to Nielsen.
The key demo fell harder
Adults 25 to 54, the group news advertisers want most, dropped 33% to about 1.58 million from 2.36 million a year earlier.
Football handed off less
The NFL game before it on CBS drew 18.4 million, down from 23.7 million last year. Insiders say 60 Minutes kept a bigger share of that crowd this time.
Still the week's top news show
Even with the losses, it was the most-watched news program and the most-watched non-sports primetime show of the week.
“We are so proud of the exceptional journalism on display in our season premiere”
The overhaul is under scrutiny
Bari Weiss, CBS News' editor in chief, led an off-season shakeup that pushed out Scott Pelley, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Now CBS has to show viewers stayed.
Viewers drifted as it ran
The audience started at 9.4 million and fell to 6.7 million by the last 15 minutes. It's the first premiere since 2000 with under 9 million viewers.
The headline
A softer NFL lead-in hurt, but the steep drop among younger adults and the slide during the episode mean CBS still has to show its overhaul didn't drive viewers away.
