60 Minutes Season Premiere Sees Dip in Ratings

After a chaotic off-season, “60 Minutes” returned to CBS on Sunday with a revamped show, a buzzy publicity campaign and an exclusive interview with an Air Force pilot shot down over Iran.All the commotion did not translate into a ratings success.Viewership for the season premiere of “60 Minutes” fell roughly 21 percent from a year ago, according to Nielsen, making it the lowest-rated premiere of the long-running show in recent memory.The Nielsen number — 7.9 million viewers in total, down from 10 million last year — is a disquieting result for Bari Weiss, CBS’s editor in chief, whose overhaul of “60 Minutes” has become an early test of her tenure.Ms.Weiss purged the show’s senior leadership, fired several correspondents and installed a new executive producer, Nick Bilton, who promised a modernization.Critics of Ms.

Weiss were quick to attribute Sunday’s decline in ratings to her decision-making.But television ratings are contingent on many factors.In most of the country, “60 Minutes” airs immediately after National Football League games, and ratings often fluctuate depending on the matchup that precedes the show.

Ahead of last year’s premiere, CBS had the N.F.L.’s marquee late-afternoon game to itself; this past Sunday, CBS and Fox both aired games that kicked off at the same time.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....