Clinton-Dole debate jolts ratings for ’60 Minutes’; ‘Beene’ draws interest

The revival of a “Point-Counterpoint”-style debate featuring 1996 presidential rivals Bill Clinton and Bob Dole yielded “60 Minutes’ ” second-biggest audience this season, based on preliminary viewing estimates for Sunday.

The venerable newsmagazine clocked in at nearly 17 million viewers, 17% above the program’s average this season. Clinton and Dole’s widely publicized appearance aired in the middle of the broadcast, with the two-minute segments scheduled to run at least 10 weeks.

The Fox comedy “Oliver Beene” also made a promising debut Sunday, averaging 13.8 million viewers and dropping only 4% from the audience that watched “The Simpsons” preceding it.

Viewing of “My Big Fat Greek Life,” meanwhile, continues to decline, with Sunday’s episode averaging 13.4 million viewers, down more than 3 million from the previous week despite the tune-in for “60 Minutes.”