’60 Minutes’ Chief Bill Owens On Embracing YouTube, Navigating Paramount Unease And Updating Show’s Election Coverage For 2024: “A Lot Of People Haven’t Made Up Their Minds”
29.02.2024 - 16:29
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Few people embody the act of balancing legacy media with the digital frontier quite like Bill Owens.
As the executive producer of 60 Minutes, he is the caretaker of a broadcast TV franchise well into its sixth decade, one of the few pieces of programming outside of NFL football capable of drawing mass tune-in. He is also aiming to deliver news about topics like the 2024 election, China, Gaza, the southern U.S. border, Cillian Murphy, and many more in a way that Gen Z cord-nevers can engage with it.
“I really do want to meet viewers where there’s interest,” he told Deadline in an interview in the show’s headquarters on Manhattan’s Far West Side. “We’re not trying to grab people on social media or TikTok by being something that 60 Minutes isn’t. We want to use the same language, we don’t want to do silly things. … And there’s an audience for that. I don’t care how old you are.”
YouTube is one key route to those who have never heard of Mike Wallace or Andy Rooney. The platform that 60 Minutes corporate cousin Viacom once sued for $1 billion is now a lifeline. Without fanfare, the show last season began posting entire episodes on Wednesday following their Sunday evening premieres. The result: a year-over-year doubling in viewing and ad revenue, according to the show. 60 Minutes Overtime, a digital bonus feature shepherded by Owens, has also continued to gain traction on YouTube. Matthew Polevoy, a senior producer who oversees digital for the show, has also orchestrated a push onto platforms like TikTok, where clips from the Murphy interview tripled 60 Minutes‘ weekly viewing.
The traditional lane for 60 Minutes, broadcast TV, has been a prosperous one for the show in its 56th season. The CBS telecast has ranked
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