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The recent 60 Minutes interview with Patrick Clancy, ex-husband of Lindsay Clancy and subject of significant media attention, did not significantly boost the show's ratings as CBS had hoped. The episode aired on September 20th drew an average of 6.77 million viewers, which is one of the lowest numbers for a second-season episode in nearly a quarter-century. Despite featuring culturally important segments and interviews, including one with Clancy, the show continues to struggle after a poor debut in its new season.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-02,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
CBS's "60 Minutes" saw a significant drop in viewership for its second episode, attracting only 6.5 million total viewers, marking an 18% decrease from the first episode’s 7.94 million viewers. This decline is part of broader challenges following Bari Weiss' overhaul as CBS News Editor-in-Chief, which included firing veteran correspondents like Scott Pelley and Cecilia Vega. The recent drop also affected the key 25-54 demographic, with only 1.1 million viewers compared to previous numbers, representing a 30% decline. Despite promotional efforts for an interview with Patrick Clancy, the episode barely outperformed last year’s second show in terms of ratings. These changes follow David Ellison's acquisition of Paramount, CBS News' parent company, and his appointment of Weiss, leading to restructuring that has so far failed to boost the program’s popularity.
Written for “60 Minutes Ratings Decline” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
60 Minutes’ blockbuster interview with Patrick Clancy, the ex-husband of Lindsay Clancy, failed to provide a major ratings boost for the Sunday show, according to audience figures released Tuesday.
uncertain
interview → fail → figures
Sunday night’s episode of the newsmagazine show drew an average of 6.77m total viewers, the third-smallest audience in the past 25 years for the second episode of a season, adding to a disappointing debut for Bari Weiss, who, as CBS editor-in-chief, rewired the show, firing several high-profile correspondents in the run-up to the new season.
asserted
who → draw → season
The 59th season debuted on 13 September with an audience down sharply from the 58th season debut, drawing 7.94 million viewers compared with 10 million for last season’s first episode.
asserted
season → debut → episode
That episode was the show’s lowest-rated season debut in the 21st century, though CBS News touted it as the most-watched non-sports program of the week and released a statement expressing satisfaction with the content of the program.
asserted
News → rat → program
“We are so proud of the exceptional journalism on display in our season premiere and we can’t wait to bring our audience another amazing show this coming Sunday,” the network said last week.
asserted
network → wait → show
The 20 September episode of the show barely edged last season’s second episode (6.45 million viewers), and it was likely hurt by not having NFL football as a lead-in program in all markets.
asserted
it → edge → markets
But it featured what should have been an audience-boosting interview, with new correspondent Ross Douthat sitting down with Patrick Clancy, who described the killings of his children and the aftermath.
asserted
who → feature → children
Clancy’s new wife, fertility doctor Rachel Danis, also gave a brief interview.
asserted
wife → give → interview
In a nod to the interview’s cultural significance and importance for the show, Weiss was in attendance for the conversation, sources said.
asserted
sources → say → conversation
The show also featured a timely segment on pushback against datacenters reported by correspondent Norah O’Donnell, along with a whodunnit piece from longtime sports-focused correspondent Jon Wertheim about Shergar, an Irish racehorse kidnapped in the 1980s.
asserted
show → feature → 1980s
While Douthat’s interview with Clancy received generally favorable reviews, it evidently was not the ratings draw that CBS News executives had hoped.
asserted
executives → receive → that
The show’s debut episode had also featured a blockbuster interview, with one of the American fighter pilots shot down over Iran in April.
asserted
episode → feature → April
The Guardian has reached out to CBS News about Sunday’s ratings.
asserted
Guardian → reach → ratings
On a positive note for the network, the episode attracted 179.2m social views, surpassing last week’s record of 116.7m views.
asserted
episode → attract → views
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