According to early Nielsen data, Prince Harry wooed about 10.52 million US viewers for his 60-minute meeting with Anderson Cooper on Sunday.
The preliminary number can certainly be seen as a win for CBS and for 60 Minutes, which is 16% above the average for the season so far. But it pales in comparison to the 17.1 million people who watched the 2021 live broadcast of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s unveiling with Oprah Winfrey, which also aired on CBS.
It’s fair to note that the couple’s meeting with Oprah marked the first time they spoke publicly about the experiences that led them to step away from the royal family, which they have now done several times. It also attracted several million more viewers in the three days following the interview, so the lag in playback could be significant in this case as well.
The episode of 60 Minutes also streamed live on Paramount+ and CBS TVE, where viewership figures also topped the season-to-date average — although CBS didn’t provide specific numbers.
On social media, the interview has garnered the most impressions of the season since its September premiere, at 923 million (compared to 1.6 billion social impressions for the season debut).
The interview on CBS followed a similar revelation that aired in the UK on ITV with Tom Bradby. This show was watched by a lackluster 4.1 million people.
In both sessions, Harry was fairly forthcoming with details about his relationship with his family, including a physical altercation with his brother Prince William in 2019 due to “a build-up of frustration” with the British tabloids. He told Cooper that he hadn’t spoken to his brother or his father, King Charles, for “a while.” When asked if he could see himself ever becoming a full-time member of the royal family again, he said: “I can’t see that happening.”
He also addressed his father King Charles III’s marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles and the impact of his mother Princess Diana’s death.
Harry’s media tour is timed to coincide with the release of his memoir, Spare, which hits shelves tomorrow. He will also appear on US television two more times today – on The Late Show and Good Morning America.
Press is also following the debut of his and Markle’s Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, which debuted in December and quickly became the streamer’s biggest documentary premiere ever, with the first three episodes garnering 81.55 million hours of views in their debut week.