While hosts have come and gone, the 60 Minutes TV show is somehow bigger than the sum of its parts. Now in its 50th season, the venerable CBS News magazine remains a Sunday night staple. Asking whether 60 Minutes will be cancelled or renewed for a 51st season somehow feels like a fool’s errand. Still, the Tiffany Network uses Nielsen ratings to fine-tune even its most enduring programs. Is the show still ticking along like clockwork, or could it use a tweak here and there? Stay tuned.
One of the most successful TV series in television history, 60 Minutes features investigative reports, interviews, human interest segments, and news-maker profiles. The CBS stable of hosts and correspondents includes Steve Kroft, Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley, Lara Logan, Bill Whitaker, Anderson Cooper, Charlie Rose, Norah O’Donnell, Sharyn Alfonsi, and Oprah Winfrey.
The ratings are typically the best indication of a show’s likelihood of staying on the air. The higher the ratings (particularly in the 18-49 demo), the better the chances for survival. This chart will be updated as new ratings data becomes available — usually the next day, around 11:30am EST/8:30am PST. Refresh to see the latest.
6/4 update: You can see the latest night’s ratings in context.
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For comparisons: The 49th season of 60 Minutes averaged a 1.56 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 11.231 million total viewers.
Note: These are the Live + Same Day Ratings which include “live” viewing plus delayed DVR viewing, up until 3am local time that same night. Ratings marked with an “*” are the fast affiliate ratings and will be updated with the Live+SD numbers when they are made available. Typically, networks get paid for C+3 ratings which includes DVR viewing within three days of the original airing when commercials are watched. Those numbers are rarely released to the press.
What do you think? Do you still like the 60 Minutes TV series? Should it be cancelled or renewed for a 51st season on CBS?
4/18/18 update: CBS has ordered season 51 of 60 Minutes for the 2018-19 season. Details here.
I quit watching when you hired Oprah. I have been a fan of 60 minutes my whole life. Not so much a fan of ultra liberal Oprah. Please do not renew her contract EVER!
60 Minutes: Always living up to expectations. Never boring and always in the search for truth…Please, do not let anything happen to this amazing, one of a kind, tough survivor with a sense of balance and humanity.
60 minutes is real journalism- this program should and will last for many years – and journalists like Bill Whitaker are heroes – voices of truth