Commentary

'60 Minutes': Top News Show, Makes Money - But That Isn't Enough

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, June 4, 2026

“60 Minutes” has been a rare show on television -- a highly rated weekly news series and one that, according to reports, was also profitable.

So why change top executives at CBS News -- including its executive producers -- and oust on-air correspondents of the show itself?

Critics keep coming back to the high-profile, overriding reasons -- President Trump didn’t like it, and new owner Skydance Media wanted to make nice with the Trump administration.

CBS’s “60 Minutes” is the top news show in all of television (broadcast, streaming, cable) with a season-to-date average so far of 9.1 million Nielsen-measured viewers.

Not only that, but it is up 9% from a year ago (8.3 million) -- another rare feat -- and has seen a 5% gain in the adult 25-54 demographic.

The show consistently wins major awards -- well over 140 for news/documentaries and Primetime Emmy Awards.

But for some reason, all of this is not enough.

The weak explanation from company officials is some vague all-encompassing descriptor that they need to bring the show into the “digital” age.

So tell me -- what does that mean? “60 Minutes” has been on the internet for decades.

Social media? Its presence doubled over the past year to 2.5 billion video views on social media, according to the company, also adding 17 million followers this past year. Its YouTube “60 Minutes Full Episodes” area on the streaming platform has 4.13 million subscribers.

Want more? It is also a staple on Paramount+. The company touts that the premium streaming service has a “deep backlog of previous seasons, allowing you to stream past episodes, interviews, and ‘60 Minutes Overtime’ segments.”

Let’s get down to the money -- at least an analysis of advertising revenue. Over the last 12 months (June 2025 to June 2026) the weekly show is estimated to have pulled in $68.8 million in national TV advertising -- 9.2 billion impressions from 1,899 airings, according to iSpot, and $67.8 million in the previous 12-month period.

And this revenue doesn’t even include the show’s major role in pulling carriage fees and subscriber revenues.

Nor does it include local TV advertising from CBS’s-owned TV owned stations and its affiliates. One estimate says from all ad revenues alone it can total $204 million.

"60 Minutes" is not only the highest-rated TV news show, but the third-highest-viewed non-sports show on all of television after CBS’s “Tracker” and CBS’s “Marshals.”

Why then rip up this show, when there are so many other money-losing or areas suffering financially that need more attention? (Hello, cable networks).

We can only focus on the facts.