Obama scores ratings high for CBS, "60 Minutes"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Barack Obama's first television interview as president-elect was a ratings hit for CBS news program "60 Minutes," drawing its highest viewership since 1999, the U.S. network said on Monday.

The interview was seen by 24.5 million viewers, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen Media Research. Final audience numbers will be released on Tuesday.

"60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft interviewed Obama, asking his views on a wide range of subjects from the current economic crisis to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the possibility of a U.S. college football playoff system.

The future first lady, Michelle Obama, joined her husband later on in the interview.

Obama last week gave his first post-election interview to Ebony, one of the oldest black-owned magazines in the United States. Ebony will publish the interview in its January issue.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and David Wiessler)