Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Vol. VIII
Est. 2019

The Mind Shield

News · Opinion · Politics · Analysis

’60 Minutes’ premiere ratings hits 25-year low under Weiss.

’60 Minutes’ is set to record its lowest-rated season premiere of the 21st century following a staff shakeup by Bari Weiss. Preliminary Nielsen ratings show that the long-running…

’60 Minutes’ premiere ratings hits 25-year low under Weiss.

’60 Minutes’ is set to record its lowest-rated season premiere of the 21st century following a staff shakeup by Bari Weiss.

Preliminary Nielsen ratings show that the long-running newsmagazine returned Sunday with an estimated 7.7 million viewers, making it the least-watched 60 Minutes premiere on record dating back to at least 2000.

The audience was down 19% from last year’s premiere, while viewership among adults aged 25 to 54 fell by 33%.

The collapse in viewership is notable given that ’60 Minutes’ was preceded by an NFL game that drew 18.4 million viewers, 10 million more viewers than the news program, The New York Post reported.

The numbers, however, are preliminary and could change when Nielsen releases its final figures Tuesday afternoon.

The weak opening comes during the first full season under Weiss and after a staff shakeup that saw the departure of Scott Pelley, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, along with executive producer Tanya Simon.

In a statement after his firing, Pelley alleged that he was told to inject lies and bias into politically sensitive stories, adding that Weiss “is casting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration.”