Andy Rooney’s Return to ’60 Minutes’ a Smash in Nielsen Overnight Ratings

NEW YORK — Viewer curiosity over Andy Rooney’s return to “60 Minutes” after a shortened suspension apparently helped the CBS show trounce its competition, overnight ratings from A. C. Nielsen Co. showed Monday.

With Rooney back at work, commenting on his suspension, Sunday’s “60 Minutes” drew 36% of the audience watching TV at that time in 23 major cities. The show usually averages 32% or 33% in the overnight ratings.

ABC’s “Life Goes On” attracted 15% of the audience and NBC’s “Can’t Buy Me Love” was third, averaging 14%. National ratings will be released today.

“Obviously, the return of Andy Rooney had a lot of people tuning in,” CBS research vice president Michael Eisenberg said Monday. “People were curious about the whole matter, and we probably picked up people who don’t normally watch ’60 Minutes.’ ”