Topline
Prince Harry’s interview with Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes saw 11.2 million viewers tune in to the Sunday broadcast according to CBS citing Nielsen figures, marking the show’s largest audience of the season for the controversial interview during which Harry accused his royal relatives of betraying him and his wife, Meghan Markle.
Prince Harry sat down with Anderson Cooper to also recount his childhood, the loss of his mother and … [+]
Key Facts
Of those 11.2 million total viewers, 11 million were adults 18 and up and 2.2 million were between the ages of 25 and 54, according to Nielsen’s time-zone adjusted figures for January 8, the day the episode aired.
The episode also had the most next-day online streams of the whole season and five times higher than the season’s average, according to CBS.
CBS noted it was the most next-day streams picked up by 60 Minutes since October 2020, when an episode aired that showed former President Donald Trump abruptly walking out of an interview with Lesley Stahl, claiming the questions were too “tough” (that episode brought in more than 16 million viewers).
The 60 Minutes episode ranked sixth in terms of viewers out of all primetime broadcasts that week.
Tangent
Harry took part in the 60 Minutes interview as part of a press run to promote his memoir Spare. The book sold 400,000 copies in the U.K. alone on its first day in stores, according to Transworld Penguin Random House, a British division of publisher Penguin Random House. However, Harry’s popularity among the British public has fallen amid the media blitz. According to a YouGov survey held January 5 and 6—after preview clips from the 60 Minutes interview were released and Spare had leaked to media outlets—only 26% of the British public had a positive view of Harry. The figure fell by seven points since the previous survey taken in early December, and marks Harry’s lowest approval rating since YouGov began tracking the popularity of the royal family in 2011.
Tangent
Harry took part in the 60 Minutes interview as part of a press run to promote his memoir Spare. The book sold 400,000 copies in the U.K. alone on its first day in stores, according to Transworld Penguin Random House, a British division of publisher Penguin Random House. However, Harry’s popularity among the British public has fallen amid the media blitz. According to a YouGov survey held January 5 and 6—after clips from the 60 Minutes interview were released and Spare had leaked to media outlets—only 26% of the British public had a positive view of Harry. The figure fell by seven points since the previous survey taken in early December, and marks Harry’s lowest approval rating since YouGov began tracking the popularity of the royal family in 2011.
Key Background
The interview with Cooper was Harry’s first with an American broadcaster before the publication of his memoir, Spare, which was officially released Tuesday. Harry defended himself against critics who accused him and his wife Meghan of violating his royal family’s privacy with their recent media projects. Harry told Cooper he only chose to take his family issues public after attempts to solve their problems privately resulted in stories against him and his wife being planted in the British press. Harry alleged that while the palace was willing to release statements defending his relatives against media reports, they refused to do so for Meghan or him. “There comes a point when silence is betrayal,” Harry told Cooper.
Further Reading
Prince Harry Defends Netflix Doc And Media Appearances: ‘Silence Is Betrayal’ (Forbes)
Prince Harry Says Princess Diana Would Be ‘Heartbroken’ By Her Sons’ Fractured Relationship (Forbes)
Prince Harry’s Memoir ‘Spare’ Sets U.K. Record For Fastest-Selling Nonfiction Book, Publisher Says (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2023/01/10/112-million-viewers-tuned-in-to-prince-harrys-60-minutes-interview/