NEW YORK (AP) — CBS' “60 Minutes,” with reports on Ukraine, voting rights, Pete Buttigieg and “Ted Lasso,” was the week's most-watched live television show — making it three weeks in a row for the old guys.
The newsmagazine has been on the air since 1968, and when asked to identify the first week “60 Minutes” was television's most-watched show, CBS said its records didn't go back that far.
“60 Minutes” was television's top show for an entire year the first time in the season that ended in 1980, the Nielsen company said. The feat was repeated in 1983, 1992, 1993 and 1994.
This winter's achievement is noteworthy because it came without the benefit of an NFL football game airing directly before it, which often inflates the show's ratings in the fall.
For the week, CBS led the way in prime time with an average of 4.9 million viewers. ABC had 3.5 million viewers, NBC had 2.9 million, Fox had 2.1 million, Univision had 1.5 million, Ion Television had 1.02 million and Telemundo had 990,000.
Fox News Channel was the most popular cable network, averaging 2.79 million viewers in prime time. ESPN had 1.4 million, MSNBC had 1.19 million, CNN had 1.12 million and HGTV had 1.1 million.
ABC's “World News Tonight” led the evening news ratings race, averaging 8.4 million viewers. NBC's “Nightly News” had 7.3 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.2 million.
For the week of March 7-13, the 20 most popular shows, their networks and viewerships:
1. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8 million.
2. “FBI,” CBS, 7.75 million.
3. “NCIS,” CBS, 7.46 million.
4. “Chicago Fire,” NBC, 7.14 million.
5. “Chicago Med,” NBC, 7.05 million.
6. “The Equalizer,” CBS, 6.95 million.
7. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 6.79 million.
8. “American Idol,” ABC, 6.64 million.
9. “Chicago PD,” NBC, 6.38 million.
10. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 6.14 million.
11. “The Neighborhood,” CBS, 5.97 million.
12. “FBI: International," CBS, 5.96 million.
13. “Bob Hearts Abishola,” CBS, 5.74 million.
14. “FBI: Most Wanted,” CBS, 5.58 million.
15. “NCIS: Hawai'i,” CBS, 5.4 million.
16. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 5.34 million.
17. “911: Lone Star,” Fox, 5.16 million.
18. “United States of Al,” CBS, 5.14 million.
19. “America's Funniest Home Videos,” ABC, 5.05 million.
20. “Magnum P.I.,” CBS, 5.01 million.
David Bauder, The Associated Press
