’60 Minutes’ Viewership Holds In Wake of Discredited Benghazi Story

By Chris Ariens 

The viewership of “60 Minutes” doesn’t seem to have suffered much in the wake of the discredited report on the attack in Benghazi last month.

Since that story aired on Oct. 27, the show has averaged 14.309 million total viewers in its three airings. In the four weeks before the story aired the show averaged 13.56 million.

The Oct. 27 edition of the show, which has received the most press attention for a “60 Minutes” story in years, was the least-watched this season. That show drew just over 10 million viewers, dropping out of the Top 20 shows for that week — a week which included the World Series.

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A week later, the Nov. 3 edition drew 15.81 million viewers and was the fourth most-watched broadcast TV program of the week. On Nov. 10, 15.26 million tuned in, making it the fifth most-watched of the week. This past Sunday, without an NFL lead-in, the show dropped to 10th, with a respectable 11.861 million watching.

The show hit a season high on Oct. 6 drawing 18 million viewers, making it the second most-watched show of the week and the most-watched “60 Minutes” since last December.

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