'60 Minutes' tops in TV for third straight week

NEW YORK (AP) - CBS' 'œ60 Minutes,'ť with reports on Ukraine, voting rights, Pete Buttigieg and 'œTed Lasso,'ť was the week's most-watched live television show - making it three weeks in a row for the old guys.

The newsmagazine has been on the air since 1968, and when asked to identify the first week 'œ60 Minutes'ť was television's most-watched show, CBS said its records didn't go back that far.

'œ60 Minutes'ť was television's top show for an entire year the first time in the season that ended in 1980, the Nielsen company said. The feat was repeated in 1983, 1992, 1993 and 1994.

This winter's achievement is noteworthy because it came without the benefit of an NFL football game airing directly before it, which often inflates the show's ratings in the fall.

For the week, CBS led the way in prime time with an average of 4.9 million viewers. ABC had 3.5 million viewers, NBC had 2.9 million, Fox had 2.1 million, Univision had 1.5 million, Ion Television had 1.02 million and Telemundo had 990,000.

Fox News Channel was the most popular cable network, averaging 2.79 million viewers in prime time. ESPN had 1.4 million, MSNBC had 1.19 million, CNN had 1.12 million and HGTV had 1.1 million.

ABC's 'œWorld News Tonight'ť led the evening news ratings race, averaging 8.4 million viewers. NBC's 'œNightly News'ť had 7.3 million and the 'œCBS Evening News'ť had 5.2 million.

For the week of March 7-13, the 20 most popular shows, their networks and viewerships:

1. 'œ60 Minutes,'ť CBS, 8 million.

2. 'œFBI,'ť CBS, 7.75 million.

3. 'œNCIS,'ť CBS, 7.46 million.

4. 'œChicago Fire,'ť NBC, 7.14 million.

5. 'œChicago Med,'ť NBC, 7.05 million.

6. 'œThe Equalizer,'ť CBS, 6.95 million.

7. 'œYoung Sheldon,'ť CBS, 6.79 million.

8. 'œAmerican Idol,'ť ABC, 6.64 million.

9. 'œChicago PD,'ť NBC, 6.38 million.

10. 'œBlue Bloods,'ť CBS, 6.14 million.

11. 'œThe Neighborhood,'ť CBS, 5.97 million.

12. 'œFBI: International," CBS, 5.96 million.

13. 'œBob Hearts Abishola,'ť CBS, 5.74 million.

14. 'œFBI: Most Wanted,'ť CBS, 5.58 million.

15. 'œNCIS: Hawai'i,'ť CBS, 5.4 million.

16. 'œNCIS: Los Angeles,'ť CBS, 5.34 million.

17. 'œ911: Lone Star,'ť Fox, 5.16 million.

18. 'œUnited States of Al,'ť CBS, 5.14 million.

19. 'œAmerica's Funniest Home Videos,'ť ABC, 5.05 million.

20. 'œMagnum P.I.,'ť CBS, 5.01 million.