Conan O’Brien’s first televised interview since his NBC exit lifted ratings for “60 Minutes” significantly over last week’s number, although as reports correctly note, the rating did not eclipse the show’s average for the season.
CBS’ newsmagazine averaged 13.33 million viewers with a 2.2 adults 18-49 rating Sunday, an increase of 38% from the prior airing. The second half hour, which included O’Brien’s feature, averaged a 2.5 with 14.15 million.
It is impossible to label a 38% week-over-week increase as anything but successful. How successful one chooses to label the performance, however, is open to interpretation.
As THR notes, the rating was down more than 10% from the season average. For a special edition episode that should have attracted an audience otherwise apathetic to “60 Minutes,” a drop-off from the season average is nothing to write home about.
What that calculation is ignoring, however, is CBS’ frequent tendency to offer its veteran news magazine a much stronger lead-in. From NFL games to PGA tournaments to NCAA Basketball, these lead-ins have been significant with young adult audiences and provided an artificial elevation to the season average.
So, when compared to most episodes without a special lead-in, the Conan-centric episode was indeed above the season benchmark.
But the chain of argumentation can go on forever–those underwhelmed by the rating can still claim that if Conan were really a massive draw, the show would have been able to rival some of the lead-in-fueled episodes. All that can thus be concluded is that while the Conan piece lifted week-over-week interest significantly, it did not turn “60 Minutes” into the biggest program of the week.
Ratings Sources: Nielsen, THR, Media Week