NEWSCritics Slam '60 Minutes' Ratings Drop While Supporters Trumpet Gains Under Bari Weiss
Bari Weiss faced criticism after '60 Minutes' ratings continued to drop under her leadership.
Sept. 23 2026, Published 5:08 a.m. ET
60 Minutes' second episode is already causing a divide among the audience as critics slam ratings dropping while supporters continue to tout gains.
For example, The Daily Beast reported that “MAGA-Curious CBS Boss [Bari Weiss] Burned by 60 Minutes Ratings Blow.”
Whereas, New York Post noted, “60 Minutes ratings surge as blockbuster Patrick Clancy interview brings back audiences.”
Media World Divided Over '60 Minutes' Ratings Debacle
'60 Minutes' ratings dropped despite interview with Patrick Clancy.
According to the final Nielsen Big Data and Panel Ratings, Sunday's episode, which marked the second episode of 60 Minutes Season 59, averaged 6.77 million viewers, per Mediaite.
Among these, 1.083 million viewers fell into the target 25-54 demographic.
This put the iconic news program 15% down in total viewers and 31% down in the target demo from its season premiere.
However, when compared to last season’s ratings from the same episode, the total viewership marked a 5% increase while the audience in the 25-54 demo witnessed an 18% rise.
Per Nielsen data, both percentages marked the largest year-over-year increase for a second episode of the show since 2017.
'60 Minutes' had been losing viewership over the years.
What complicated the situation, though, was the fact that Sunday's episode marked the third consecutive season in the news program where the second episode garnered less than 7 million viewers.
As a reference, 60 Minutes’ second episode in 2001 drew an average viewership of 16.9 million and the average remained over 10 million until 2016.
The quarter-hour numbers also showed that viewership declined as the program continued, with the total viewership averaging at 6.3 million in the last 15 minutes of the show.
Meanwhile, the target audience dropped as low as 956,000.
- '60 Minutes' Drops to Lowest Season Premiere Since 2000 as CBS Insiders Push Back on Nielsen’s New Metrics
- CNN Ratings 'Panic' Revealed: Kaitlan Collins’ Primetime Show 'The Source' Tanking; Has Less Viewers Than Dayside's 'Inside Politics' With Dana Bash
- Patrick Clancy Reveals He Considered Suicide After Deaths of His 3 Children
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'60 Minutes' Continues to Garner Attention Over Ratings Drop
'60 Minutes' Season 59 Episode 2 retained more viewership than last season's same episode.
Per the data New York Post cited, Sunday's episode’s roughly 6.5 million average viewership marked an increase from last season’s 6.454 million viewers for the same episode.
Particularly because around 1.1 million viewers in the demo showcased a 20% rise from last year's 917,000 viewers in the 25-54 bracket.
To clarify, last season's premiere drew around 10.026 million viewers before dropping sharply to 6.454 million for the second episode, meaning the show retained roughly 64% of viewers.
'60 Minutes' Season 59's second episode was the third lowest ranked episode since 2001.
However, Season 59 of 60 Minutes premiered with 7.935 million viewers.
As a result, the 6.77 million viewers it drew for the second episode marked a 15% decline, which meant that it retained roughly 85% of its initial audience.
Both factions seem to be right in their own way, just that their point of comparison is vastly different.
When compared to the premiere episode of this season, the show took a big hit in viewership.
However, when compared to the same episode of last season, the show witnessed an increase in ratings.
Overall, though, it would be safe to say that 60 Minutes is seeing a decline in ratings when the ratings from the past quarter century get factored in.
Especially as Sunday's episode ranked the third-lowest in ratings since 2001, per Nielsen data.
