NEWS'60 Minutes' Drops to Lowest Season Premiere Since 2000 as CBS Insiders Push Back on Nielsen’s New Metrics
CBS is in the midst of an overhaul.
Sept. 16 2026, Published 5:21 p.m. ET
After 60 Minutes dropped to its lowest season premiere since 2000, CBS insiders blamed Nielsen's new metrics, which went into effect on August 31.
Meanwhile, defenders believe the ratings plunge is due to internal shakeups led by Bari Weiss, who critics have described as "MAGA curious."
'60 Minutes' just had its lowest season premiere since 2000.
Network sources stressed that the year-over-year comparison is no longer "apples-to-apples" because Nielsen's new measurement system has broad-based impacts that have lowered TV ratings across multiple networks.
Instead of a single network holding a late-afternoon doubleheader, the NFL scheduled opening Sunday doubleheaders on both CBS and Fox.
This split the late-afternoon football audience, causing CBS's lead-in to drop 22 percent compared to last year's premiere window.
David Ellison hired Bari Weiss as the new CBS editor-in chief in October 2025
CBS’ spin doctors highlighted that 60 Minutes retained 43 percent of its incoming football audience, slightly higher than last year's 42 percent retention rate.
Critics argued that Weiss — who was installed after Skydance Media's David Ellison acquired Paramount — is intentionally steering CBS News to the right.
They point to the hiring of conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat and the purging of veteran reporters as a calculated move to appeal to GOP audiences.
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CBS Endured a Staffing Shakeup
Some critics questioned why people like Nick Bilton were hired despite having no relevant experience.
Reviewers and industry insiders have questioned her decision to replace traditional TV news producers with figures like new Executive Producer Nick Bilton, a documentary filmmaker and technology writer with no prior background in network television broadcasting.
The abrupt firings of high-profile correspondents like Scott Pelley, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega sparked severe pushback as well.
Before his exit, Pelley reportedly confronted Bilton in front of staff, accusing the new leadership of "murdering" the iconic program. Surviving veterans like Lesley Stahl and Bill Whitaker only agreed to stay on the condition that the show maintains its commitment to independent journalism.
Bari Weiss' Plans for CBS' Future
Bari Weiss is trying to transition '60 Minutes' from a traditional TV program to a multi-platform brand.
To combat the legacy broadcast decline, Weiss is aggressively pushing a digital-first strategy to transition 60 Minutes from a traditional television program into a multi-platform brand.
During internal staff town halls, Weiss explicitly warned employees that relying solely on broadcast TV audiences is a recipe for stagnation. She has pushed for CBS News to think like a modern streaming company competing for mobile and digital attention.
Weiss has hired dozens of new, younger contributors to create social-media-first reporting. The goal is to slice traditional 60 Minutes investigation styles into bite-sized, analytical videos designed to attract younger demographics on platforms outside of Paramount+.
Writing for Daily Kos, media critic Daniel Hunter noted that the new regime is going to "drive 60 Minutes off the same ratings cliff as CBS Mornings and CBS Evening News.”
