60 Minutes Plus has been cancelled by ViacomCBS’s tentpole streaming service, Paramount Plus, which was advertised as one of the service’s premium exclusives.
The company confirmed that 60 Minutes Plus, a spinoff of its award-winning TV news magazine 60 Minutes, will no longer be produced. Variety previously reported, citing individuals familiar with the issue, that the series had only aired one 30-episode season at the time of the cancellation announcement, which was discussed with personnel Thursday morning. The firm announced in a statement that the content created by the series will remain on Paramount Plus.
In a statement shared, the business said, “We are proud of the team at 60 Minutes+ and of the stories they produced, which informed the audience about some of the most important issues of our time.” “Their journalism was recognised with several awards, including a Gracie, National Headliner and NABJ Salute to Excellence Award. The excellent work that has been done by the 60+ team will continue to be on Paramount+ .”
News, which was a crucial component of the Paramount Plus content pitch, will remain a core component of the service’s programming roster, according to report. According to reports, the company intends to assist 60 Minutes Plus staff in finding new jobs within the company.
“60 Minutes” is one of the most well-known television news shows, with a following that spans generations. And CBS has attempted to expand it in the past, most notably with “60 Minutes II,” a Wednesday-night sequel to the original that aired from 1999 until 2005. “60 Minutes Plus,” on the other hand, was an attempt to expand the newsmagazine into new territory, a streaming platform where viewers have different expectations about content, length, and structure. The average “60 Minutes” TV segment is about 12 minutes long. Streaming viewers may only be interested in half of it, and may not want to see as much of the correspondent as they would in more traditional venues.
The series premiered in March of last year, after Paramount Plus was rebranded from its CBS All Access streaming forerunner. The episodes ranged in length from 15 minutes to over 20 minutes and covered topics as diverse as the Capitol riot and the metaverse. Correspondents Seth Doane, Wesley Lowery, Enrique Acevedo, and Laurie Segall hosted the show.
60 Minutes is currently available in a variety of formats, including podcasts, YouTube, Facebook, and its website, and its webcast 60MinutesOvertime.com provides viewers with behind-the-scenes footage and archival content. The firm declined to comment on its decision to cancel 60 Minutes Plus, the program’s standalone streaming sibling.