’60 Minutes” – which landed the first exclusive with Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the pilot who ditched US Airways 1549 in the Hudson River – did not get much of a jolt from its scoop.
The show drew an audience of 16.8 million viewers, just a smidgen up from the show’s season average, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
What was the problem?
CBS got Sullenberger to agree to the interview back in late January – but did not rush to get it on the air the following Sunday, Jan. 25.
The hero pilot would not agree to sit down until Jan. 30.
The network decided to hold back the interview the following Sunday because of the Super Bowl on NBC.
By the time the show aired its big scoop, nearly a month had passed since the crash and a good portion of the public interest in the story had apparently moved on.
