Secret Service director interview tanks 60 Minutes ratings

Despite dominating in ratings for decades, 60 Minutes is taking a hit. Mediate reports a recent episode featuring an interview with Secret Service director Sean M. Curry brought in even more mediocre viewership in comparison to other episodes.

The episode drew in 6.061 million total viewers, with 767,000 viewers in the key 25-54 age demographic. Veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl has allegedly considered leaving the show due to editing conflicts over her segment about Israeli settler harassment in the West Bank.

Other staffers are also dissatisfied. The report notes staff who have protested in disagreement with the direction of the program have been warned they can lose their jobs. Many are reportedly not happy with the current leadership at CBS News.

Compared to the Sunday lineup with Tracker and Marshals, which air after 60 Minutes, the news program came in last. The former received above 7 million total viewers.

The recent drop in ratings comes after 60 Minutes drew 10.2 million total viewers and 2 million viewers in the demo on its October 4 episode. The latest program is in line with the overall season decline, with its debut being the lowest-rated since 2000. The first episode of the season drew in 7.9 million total viewers, a 21% drop from the previous year’s debut, marking a 25-year low.

The show is now under new direction following a staff overhaul under editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. Weiss’s tenure has been heavily criticized for her reimagining of the program, both by viewers and former staff.

Former 60 Minutes journalist Scott Pelley accused Weiss of "murdering" the program in a tense staff meeting. He was later axed but signed a major deal, leaving him without severance or other benefits effective immediately. In a termination note, executive producer Nick Bilton reprimanded Pelley for his "performative display of hostility," saying that he "hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt,” per USA Today.

Still, the Emmy Award-winning journalist signed a major deal with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in the aftermath. Former executive producer Bill Owens took issue with the removal or exit of veteran correspondents and executives—including Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, Tanya Simon, Draggan Mihailovich, and Pelley—replacing them with figures like Nick Bilton, and questioned Weiss’s shift in editorial direction and coverage. Other concerns are centered on the firing of mostly female on-air personalities.