Barack Obama lifts ’60 Minutes’ rating to best since 1999

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President-elect Barack Obama helped “60 Minutes” draw its biggest viewership in nearly a decade on Sunday. Correspondent Steve Kroft’s interview with the incoming president and future first lady, Michelle Obama, drew a 17.4 rating in the top 56 local markets measured by Nielsen Media Research.

That’s the highest rating the venerable CBS program has scored since January 1999. (Final national rankings will be released Tuesday.) Last week, “60 Minutes” was the most-watched program on television, attracting its biggest audience in a year when Kroft interviewed four of Obama’s top campaign advisors.

— Matea Gold