60 Minutes opens season 59 down 21% to 7.94 million viewers

60 Minutes opened its 59th season with about 7.94 million viewers, more than two million down on last year's opener.

The CBS news programme drew nearly 10.02 million for the start of season 58. The new figure is a 21% fall year on year, according to Nielsen, the company that counts US television audiences, as reported by Variety.

The drop was sharper among viewers aged 25 to 54, the age group advertisers watch most closely. About 1.58 million viewers in that demographic watched the premiere, compared with 2.36 million last year. That is a 33% fall, Nielsen said.

Last season as a whole averaged 8.16 million viewers overall and 1.32 million in the 25-to-54 demographic, according to Nielsen. So the opener landed just below its recent full-season average in total viewers, but above it in the younger group.

The slot matters. 60 Minutes aired Sunday, 13 September at 7:30 PM ET/PT on the CBS Television Network, directly after NFL football. The lead-in, meaning the game that feeds viewers into the next programme, was the Sunday-afternoon match in which the Minnesota Vikings seized control from the Green Bay Packers deep in the fourth quarter.

Despite the lower numbers, the premiere was still the week's most-watched news programme and the most-watched non-sports programme in primetime. CBS describes 60 Minutes as America's number one television news programme, built around hard-hitting investigative reports, newsmaker interviews and in-depth profiles, according to CBS.

The broadcast was led by Lesley Stahl and Norah O'Donnell. CBS listed three segments for the night: "Shot Down Over Iran," "The Pardon Economy" and "Battering." The Iran report featured an exclusive interview with a US Air Force weapon systems officer about his rescue after his plane was struck, as previewed by Deadline.

The return followed a turbulent off-season. Bari Weiss, editor in chief of CBS News, orchestrated an overhaul that forced out correspondents Scott Pelley, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.

CBS News said in a Tuesday statement it was proud of the journalism in the season premiere and looked forward to the next Sunday show.

What makes this stand out is the maths of Sunday nights. A smaller football audience at 7:30 PM leaves fewer people to carry over. For the crew behind the programme, the test now is whether the next few Sundays hold steady once the lead-in changes.