Prince Harry made the rounds of press appearances in the U.S. and the United Kingdom in early January to promote his newly-released best-selling memoir “Spare.” In the tell-all book, he claims the fractured state of his relationships with his brother Prince William and his father, King Charles III.
Harry’s highest-profile interview came on Sunday, Jan. 8, when Anderson Cooper spoke with him for “60 Minutes” on CBS. According to live plus same day data from Nielsen Media Research, the hour drew the newsmagazine’s season-high figure of 11.216 million total viewers, which included 2.2 million in adults 25-54. In the following seven days, it added another 1.248 million to lift the total audience tally to 12.464 million viewers. (In addition, the interview’s excerpts aired on Monday’s, Jan. 9 edition of Cooper’s weeknight “360” show provided the top total audience results for CNN — as indicated in the show rankings at the end of this article — for the week ending Jan. 15.)
Also reaching a season-high was the delivery of next-day streaming of “60 Minutes” on Paramount+, CBS App, and CBS.com — five times higher than the season average (CBS did not disclose raw figures); also, the highest for a “60 Minutes” episode since October 2020. In addition to Prince Harry, the episode also featured Lesley Stahl’s profile of Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer.
Harry’s chat with Michael Strahan for ABC’s “Good Morning America” took place on Monday, Jan. 9. “GMA” led its morning competition in total viewers with 3.39 million for that date, although this did not represent a boost — this was at its average viewer number for the entire week (Jan. 9-13, 2022).
On Tuesday, Jan. 10, it was a more lighthearted spot for Prince Harry on CBS late-night talker “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” He took tequila shots with host Colbert, mentioned his viewing of Netflix royal drama “The Crown,” and appeared in a skit with actor Tom Hanks. The Jan. 10 edition delivered 3.2 million total viewers, which marked the top “Late Show” audience since its special Super Bowl night episode in 2021 (4.86 million on Feb. 7, 2021). Based solely on weeknights, it was the highest figure since former President Barack Obama’s appearance following the 2020 presidential election (3.49 million on Nov. 24, 2020).
In the United Kingdom, ITV news anchor Tom Bradby conducted “Harry: The Interview” for its original 90-minute broadcast there back on Jan. 8, posting 4.2 million viewers (not enough to beat the 5.25 million Britons of its competing telecast from BBC, drama “Happy Valley”). It re-aired in the U.S. as a condensed one-hour version on CBS on Saturday, Jan. 14, drawing 3.07 million viewers based on Nielsen’s live plus seven-day figures.
Having recovered from being hospitalized for blood clots in his lungs and leg, famed weatherman Al Roker made his emotional return to “Today” following a two-month absence on Friday, Jan. 6. The NBC morning news program averaged 2.96 million total viewers, which was still not enough to beat ABC’s “GMA” (3.14 million) that day. However, in the key 25-54 demographic, NBC was the clear leader by drawing 812,000 within the demo. Its margin of +111,000 in adults 25-54 over “GMA” (701,000) was the show’s biggest single-day demo lead over ABC’s morning news program since Dec. 13, 2022, and its best Friday demo win in over eight months (since Apr. 22, 2022).
Cable news averages for January 9-15, 2023:
Total Day (Jan. 9-15 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.470 million viewers; 183,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.659 million viewers; 67,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.448 million viewers; 88,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.139 million viewers; 43,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.114 million viewers; 27,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.110 million viewers; 9,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.107 million viewers; 10,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.103 million viewers; 17,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (Jan. 9-14 @ 8-11 p.m.; Jan. 15 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 2.208 million viewers; 266,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.009 million viewers; 98,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.514 million viewers; 113,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.153 million viewers; 46,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.152 million viewers; 46,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.141 million viewers; 10,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.114 million viewers; 22,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.100 million viewers; 16,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.046 million viewers; 5,000 adults 25-54
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 1/12/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.981 million viewers
2. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 1/12/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.758 million viewers
3. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 1/11/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.609 million viewers
4. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 1/12/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.482 million viewers
5. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 1/10/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.475 million viewers
6. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 1/13/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.469 million viewers
7. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 1/9/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.419 million viewers
8. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 1/11/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.275 million viewers
9. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Thu. 1/12/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.225 million viewers
10. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 1/10/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.201 million viewers
35. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 1/9/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.131 million viewers
159. Anderson Cooper 360 “The Harry Interview” (CNN, Mon. 1/9/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.882 million viewers
375. Varney & Company (FBN, Mon. 1/9/2023 10:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.327 million viewers
380. Highway Thru Hell “(1102) No Thru Road” (TWC, Sun. 1/15/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.321 million viewers
397. Forensic Files (HLN, late Fri. 1/13/2023 1:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.297 million viewers
429. Shark Tank “Shark Tank 1321” (CNBC, Wed. 1/11/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.268 million viewers
574. Newsnation: Rush Hour (NWSN, Mon. 1/9/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.192 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 1/12/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.515 million adults 25-54
2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 1/11/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.509 million adults 25-54
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 1/10/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.499 million adults 25-54
4. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 1/12/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.457 million adults 25-54
5. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 1/11/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.417 million adults 25-54
6. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 1/12/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.407 million adults 25-54
7. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 1/9/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.396 million adults 25-54
8. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Thu. 1/12/2023 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.393 million adults 25-54
9. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 1/10/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.368 million adults 25-54
10. The Ingraham Angle (FOXNC, Thu. 1/12/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.367 million adults 25-54
39. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 1/9/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.247 million adults 25-54
90. Erin Burnett Outfront (CNN, Wed. 1/11/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.178 million adults 25-54
177. Forensic Files (HLN, late Fri. 1/13/2023 12:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.122 million adults 25-54
257. Shark Tank “Shark Tank 1321” (CNBC, Wed. 1/11/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.089 million adults 25-54
465. Highway Thru Hell “(1102) No Thru Road” (TWC, Sun. 1/15/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.055 million adults 25-54
579. Cuomo (NWSN, Wed. 1/11/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.042 million adults 25-54
608. Kudlow (FBN, Thu. 1/12/2023 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.039 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
