’60 Minutes’ has steep ratings decline in season premiere after changes at CBS

"60 Minutes" returned this fall with a quiet season premiere after a summer of controversy behind-the-scenes. But the latest episode may have been a little too quiet.

The 59th season of the iconic newsmagazine premiered Sunday, Sept. 13, and nearly 20% fewer viewers tuned in to hear the news of the week. The episode only netted 7.94 million viewers, according to Nielsen data released by CBS. That is down from 10 million viewers for the 2025 season premiere.

This steep drop in viewership comes after executive producer Nick Bilton took over the program earlier this year, and proceeded to fire veterans, including popular correspondent Scott Pelley in an acrimonious dispute that made national headlines. Bilton was hired by CBS New editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, a controversial journalist who has made the overhaul of "60 Minutes" a priority in her tumultuous tenure at CBS so far.

CBS News issued a statement in response to the ratings, saying, "We are so proud of the exceptional journalism on display in our season premiere and we can’t wait to bring our audience another amazing show this coming Sunday."

After Bilton fired Pelley and others, the producer added new correspondents to "Minutes," including conservative New York…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/entertainment/