\n Paramount\u2019s overhaul of \u201c60 Minutes,\u201d and all the outrage that followed, did not spur many new viewers to check out the season premiere.\n <\/p>\n
\n About 7.94 million viewers tuned in for Sunday night\u2019s season premiere, down from 10.03 million for the 2025 premiere, a major year-over-year drop.\n <\/p>\n
\n There are numerous reasons for the decline. Chiefly, ratings for the NFL match-up that preceded \u201c60 Minutes\u201d also declined about 20 percent year-over-year.\n <\/p>\n
\n But the results are still discouraging for CBS News, which suffered serious brand damage by firing several top \u201c60 Minutes\u201d producers and correspondents last May and June.\n <\/p>\n
\n Since then, \u201c60\u201d has been in rebuilding mode, and the newsmagazine put out a strong episode<\/a> on Sunday night. But last spring\u2019s changes \u2014 led by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss \u2014 may have alienated a greater number of viewers than they attracted.\n <\/p>\n \n And the broader ratings environment is unforgiving, as every TV executive can attest. Nielsen recently changed its methodology, which has lowered TV ratings for many channels.\n <\/p>\n \n That didn\u2019t stop the schadenfreude and score-settling on Tuesday, as some Weiss critics pronounced her \u201c60\u201d reboot a failure while others called that unrealistic and unfair.\n <\/p>\n \n Anticipating a heap of negative headlines, CBS News issued a statement that read, \u201cWe are so proud of the exceptional journalism on display in our season premiere and we can\u2019t wait to bring our audience another amazing show this coming Sunday.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The news division also emphasized the reach of \u201c60 Minutes\u201d content across YouTube and other social media platforms \u2014 something CBS News has been touting for years.\n <\/p>\n \n The difference, this year, is that the new owners of Paramount \u2014 who are now seeking to buy CNN\u2019s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery \u2014 have shaken up \u201c60 Minutes\u201d in dramatic fashion.\n <\/p>\n \n In late May, CBS ousted correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega along with several of the show\u2019s top producers, including executive producer Tanya Simon. Weiss tapped Nick Bilton, a New York Times alum and documentary producer with little broadcast news experience, to replace Simon.\n <\/p>\n \n The following week, Scott Pelley confronted Weiss and Bilton<\/a> at a staff meeting and accused Weiss of \u201cmurdering\u201d the newsmagazine. A day later, CBS fired Pelley<\/a>, who also accused the new management of forcing him to \u201cinject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story\u201d \u2014 a charge the network denied.\n <\/p>\n \n Days of bad press ensued, and some longtime fans said they would shun the show because of the politically charged overhaul.\n <\/p>\n \n Weiss and Bilton vowed to modernize the newsmagazine and went on to hire several new correspondents and contributors<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n CBS also rolled out a marketing campaign to draw attention to the new season<\/a>. But the pushback has continued: Over the weekend, an activist group even staged a protest<\/a> outside CBS News headquarters with a digital sign that showed Paramount CEO David Ellison\u2019s face with the words \u201cDavid Ellison is murdering 60 Minutes.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Despite the personnel changes and a few technical tweaks, Sunday\u2019s episode largely resembled the \u201c60 Minutes\u201d that viewers have known for years \u2014 scrutiny of President Donald Trump included.\n <\/p>\n \n But the off-air controversies are proving hard to overcome.\n <\/p>\n \n Television is all about lead-ins, and for the first five months of the season, \u201c60 Minutes\u201d has one of the best lead-ins of all: professional football.\n <\/p>\n \n CBS televised the Packers\u2013Vikings game on Sunday afternoon, which averaged about 18.6 million viewers. The equivalent game last year averaged 23.7 million.\n <\/p>\n