The new fall TV season is getting underway this week. (Tonight, are you going to watch Chase?, Hawaii 5-0? or neither?) And so the newsmagazines are returning with new programs as well.
Last night “60 Minutes'” Lesley Stahl had a new story — an interview with former Pres. Jimmy Carter for his new book — but the CBS News magazine will have its official 43rd season premiere this coming Sunday.
Last Friday, ABC’s “20/20” returned for an all-new, single-story episode. It was Friday’s #1 show in Total Viewers (7.0M), A18-49 (1.9 rating/7 share) and A25-54 (2.4/7). “20/20” also topped its newsmagazine competition: a 2-hour “Dateline” (8-10pm) on NBC.
Still, with 6.3M Total Viewers, Dateline’s performance shows viewers are getting back into their regular TV habits. “Dateline” had its best Friday A18-49 rating in 14 weeks and biggest overall Friday audience in 17 weeks. The season premiere of “Dateline” is this Friday.