Is Bill Owens Plotting a '60 Minutes' Comeback with Fired Stars?
A former boss of “60 Minutes” wants to launch a rival news series with Scott Pelley and other correspondents and producers who have recently exited the iconic show — but insiders are skeptical about whether it can get off the ground, The Post has learned. Bill Owens – who resigned last year as “60 Minutes” executive producer amid a dustup between CBS and President Trump over how a Kamala Harris interview was edited – is looking to raise around $50 million to fund two years’ worth of in-depth and investigative news segments, sources with knowledge said.The lump sum Owens is seeking would bankroll everything from staffing and production to marketing and legal, sources added. Still, for the idea to work, former “60 Minutes” journalists would likely be forced to take a drastic pay cut.Former “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens is looking to launch a streaming news magazine, sources said. Getty Images for Writers Guild of America East“I think they’re asking for too much money,” a source familar with the plan said. “They’re looking at the old ’60 Minutes’ model and they’re all used to mega salaries.”A source close to Owens denied the plans.Still, some insiders speculated that a “60 Minutes”-style venture could potentially capitalize on recent upheaval at the 57-year-old show after CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss cleaned house in recent months.A second source said Owens is angling to enlist the bombastic Pelley, who was fired in June after he tore into Weiss, claiming she was “murdering ‘60 Minutes” during a staff meeting.Indeed, there has been chatter that Pelley’s scorched-earth exit – in which he also slammed the show’s new executive producer Bilton, telling him he’d “never be welcomed” – was partly a ploy to gin up buzz ahead of an upcoming venture.“60 Minutes'” new executive producer Nick Bilton has been scrambling to rebuild the show before it goes to air in September. Joshua BlanchardOwens could also tap other fired “60 Minutes” staffers including ex-correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, former executive producer Tanya Simon and senior producers Guy Campanile and Draggan Mihailovich and Matthew Polevoy, a source with knowledge said.Owens declined to comment. Other former “60 Minutes” staffers couldn’t be reached for comment.As The Post reported last week, the show’s new executive producer Nick Bilton has struggled to hire senior producers and has used interviews with prospective candidates as “therapy sessions” to vent about his own work conditions.Last week, Bilton announced four “new faces” coming to “60 Minutes” — Ross Douthat, Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni and Trevor Phillips, as well as longtime CBS News journo Norah O’Donnell. Some of the hires have been met with skepticism over their broadcast TV qualifications.Owens shopped the idea of a rival show earlier this year, but hit some snags — including securing money and a platform, sources close to the situation said.Fired “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley has been rumored to be working with Owens on the new venture. AFP via Getty ImagesIn recent weeks, however, fired “60 Minutes” staffers have put together a business plan and pitch deck. The old gang is hoping to produce a documentary-style program for streaming and potentially digital platforms, according to sources.“Rather than a chat show, it will be deeply reported, similar to ‘60 Minutes’,” a source said.Still, Owens and his colleagues face a major problem — namely the stiff costs of producing a “60 Minutes”-type program and the challenge of convincing deep-pocketed streamers like Netflix, Apple and YouTube — or even a TV network like NBC — to foot the bill.“There isn’t a huge appetite,” from major streaming platforms or broadcast networks, said one TV agent.Owens will likely tap fired correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega (center left and center right), as well as former executive producer Tanya Simon (right). CBS via Getty ImagesInsiders have speculated that a prime target for the series would be Netflix, the prospective archrival to CBS owner Paramount Skydance and its pending, $110 billion merger partner Warner Bros Discovery, the owner of HBO Max.“There’s no clamoring on the Netflix side for overall news,” said one former streaming exec. “But for a tightly done show that isn’t too expensive, maybe it could work.”Pivot podcast co-host Scott Galloway has been vocal on his show about why Netflix should hire Pelley and other former “60 Minutes” to create their own version, citing the show’s success.“If I were [Netflix CEO] Ted Sarandos, I would call Scott Pelley and Anderson Cooper, pay them $10 million each, you hire whoever the f you want, including an executive producer and Netflix will put something out called. ‘The Hour,'” he said recently.CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss is revamping “60 Minutes” and has been cleaning house as part of that effort. CBS News via APIf Owens isn’t able to ink a hefty deal with a streamer, he will need to prepare to make his show on a shoestring budget, said one source who works in the digital video space. Building an audience of subscribers — a notoriously difficult prospect — would be also vital to success, the person added. On YouTube, a video with 1 million views typically earns around $5,000 in advertising revenue. One million subscribers can bring in upwards of $1 million a year, and sponsorships can meaningfully increase that amount depending on the sponsor. Owens’ efforts come as Weiss has decimated the show’s staff in a bid to update the program and address criticisms that it was marred by left-wing bias.Pelley had griped that his bosses were trying to interfere with his reports and insert “political bias.” CBS News denied Pelley’s claims and said the edits were part of the normal journalistic process between correspondent and editor.Four of the seven correspondents from last season’s “60 Minutes” exited the program. CBS via Getty ImagesAlthough Owens quit “60 Minutes” last year – before Weiss’ arrival – he too complained about interference from higher ups.The exec quit the lofty gig last year when the show’s parent company Paramount was settling a lawsuit against President Trump over claims of “deceptive editing” of an interview with Harris that aired days before the November 2024 presidential election.As previously reported by The Post, Bilton has been stewing over how he was treated by Pelley and the staff, who applauded the correspondent for standing up to the new boss.Sources told The Post that Bilton’s lack of TV experience is a key issue with higher-ups at CBS, who have expressed concerns that he has “big ideas” but lacks the “skills to get things done,” which has some worrying about the show’s September debut.But there’s no guarantee an Owens-led “60 Minutes” knockoff will be a success.One source pointed to CBS’ attempt to rival HBO’s acclaimed “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” with “60 Minutes Sports,” which it launched in 2013 with Showtime. The show ultimately shuttered in 2017, after failing to build a large enough audience. “Real Sports,” the sports documentary show ended its 29-year-run in 2023 when Gumbel retired.
