Why is CBS re-airing Meghan's interview with Oprah? Network reschedules regular shows after record ratings
CBS has announced that it will re-air Meghan Markle's and Prince Harry's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey on March 12. 'Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special' will return to television for those who missed the interview when it originally aired on Sunday, March 7, or simply for those who want to relive the explosive interview that has unfurled a crisis for the British royal family.
The special will re-air on Friday, March 12, from 8-10 pm ET. Following the two-hour special, the network will air an encore episode of 'Silence of the Lambs' prequel series 'Clarice' at 10 pm. In doing so, the special will replace the regularly scheduled programming for the night, which included original episodes of 'MacGyver', 'Magnum PI', and 'Blue Bloods' which normally at 8 pm, 9 pm, and 10 pm ET respectively.
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CBS has not said why it is rescheduling original episodes to re-air the interview, however, 'Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special' proved to be a ratings win for CBS when the two-hour special drew in an average of 17.1 million viewers on both coasts, according to Nielsen.
In comparison, the previous Sunday night, the network averaged 6.5 million viewers in prime time. Moreover, the Nielsen ratings do not take some forms of online streaming into account. CBS also said that the interview was "CBS' most live-streamed event outside of the NFL and Super Bowl Sunday."
The Sussexes interview with Oprah included many reveals as Markle spoke about her struggles during her time with the royal family. Markle and Harry also revealed disturbing discussions in the Palace about their son's skin color.
During the interview, Markle opened up about her "suicidal thoughts" while living at the palace, saying, "That was a very clear and frightening thought, I couldn't be left alone." She also confessed that she did not receive any help from the royal family in her dark days - when she went to 'The Institution' to be checked into a hospital, she was told it would not be good for optics and was shrugged off.
Further, Markle also revealed that an unnamed member of the royal family had "several conversations" with Harry regarding Archie's skin color. The couple did not reveal the person who talked about it, saying it "would be very damaging to them." The topic came up when Markle spoke of being pregnant with Archie, saying, "In the months when I was pregnant, all around the same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of he won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born."
When Oprah pressed for further information, Markle revealed that the conversations were around "what that would mean and what that would look like." Going against tradition, Meghan was informed that Archie would not be given security or a formal title. "The idea of the first member of color in this family not being titled" brought a lot of pain to her.