’60 Minutes’ head Nick Bilton aims to pivot show before ratings decline
Nick Bilton speaks at the EPIX “Berlin Station” LA premiere at Milk Studios on September 29, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
Joshua Blanchard | Getty Images
Paramount Skydance CBS News has hired Nick Bilton as the new executive producer of “60 Minutes,” ushering in a new era for the No. 1 news broadcaster in 52 years.
Bilton replaces Tanya Simon as the series’ executive producer. Simon spent more than 30 years on “60 Minutes.” Bilton, by contrast, has no experience running a TV newscast.
Bilton is a former New York Times technology columnist and writer for HBO and netflix.
One of Bilton’s biggest initial challenges will be winning the support of CBS News employees, who believe many of the changes implemented in the newsroom are politically motivated.
Skydance and Paramount merged last year, taking responsibility for CBS and other Paramount properties, including the famed movie studio and its nascent streaming business. Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison is now trying to merge Paramount with Warner Bros. Discovery, and needs regulatory approval from the Trump administration to complete the deal.
In 2024, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump sued “60 Minutes,” claiming the program deceptively edited an interview with rival Kamala Harris. Paramount settled the lawsuit for $16 million, which irritated some veteran “60 Minutes” staffers. including longtime reporter Scott Pelley. Another important announcer, Anderson Cooper, was announced was leaving the show earlier this month.
Bilton said in a phone interview Thursday that he was determined to show that his hiring was not a political maneuver.
“I will prove this with my work,” Bilton said. “I am committed to holding people in power accountable.”
The “60 Minutes” change is the latest major change to the program from CBS, which earlier this month aired the final episode of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” after 11 seasons and declined to renew the series.
Bilton said Weiss brought him in now, while “60 Minutes” ratings were still rising – 9% increase According to Nielsen, from the previous year to change the show before it’s too late.
“It’s still the No. 1 news broadcast in America. But history tells you that disruption doesn’t happen immediately when new technology comes along; it usually happens several years later,” Bilton said. “We’re about to launch TV. What was the best sales year for Nokia? It was 2008, a year after the iPhone came out. Blogs came out in 1997-98. The New York Times had its best sales year in 1999.”
Bilton declined to say how he plans to revamp the show but said it wouldn’t be a complete overhaul. He said he wanted to meet with “60 Minutes” staff before announcing his plan “in a couple of weeks.”
