Report: Rival 60-Minutes Type Show Being Planned

Bill Owens

Former “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens is seeking roughly $50 million to launch a rival investigative news series featuring Scott Pelley and other recently departed staffers from the CBS program, according to sources, though a source close to Owens denied the plans. 

The NY Post reports the funding would cover two years of staffing, production, marketing and legal costs for a documentary-style streaming or digital program of deeply reported segments modeled on “60 Minutes,” sources with knowledge of the matter said. 

Participants would likely need to accept major pay cuts from their previous network salaries. One source familiar with the plan called the task excessive, noting the team was still oriented toward the old high-cost “60 Minutes” model and mega salaries. 

Owens resigned from “60 Minutes” in April 2025, citing a loss of editorial independence amid Paramount’s handling of a Trump lawsuit over a Kamala Harris interview. Pelley was fired in June 2026 after a heated staff meeting in which he accused CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of “murdering ‘60 Minutes’” and criticized new executive producer Nick Bilton. 

Scott Pelley

Other potential recruits include fired correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, former executive producer Tanya Simon, and senior producers Guy Campanile, Draggan Mihailovich and Matthew Polevoy, according to a source. Owens had shopped a similar idea earlier in the year but encountered obstacles securing financing and a platform. In recent weeks, the group has prepared a business plan and pitch deck. Potential homes could include Netflix or other streamers, though industry voices described limited appetite for high-cost news programming. 

One television agent said there is “no clamoring” from major platforms. Podcast host Scott Galloway has publicly urged Netflix to hire Pelley and others for a similar project. Skepticism remains about whether the venture can launch successfully. 

Producing “60 Minutes”-style content is expensive, and building a sustainable audience on streaming or digital platforms is difficult. Historical parallels include CBS’s short-lived “60 Minutes Sports,” which ended after failing to attract a large enough audience. Owens declined to comment; other former staffers could not be reached. The reported effort comes amid ongoing changes at “60 Minutes” under Weiss and Bilton, who have brought in new correspondents while the program prepares for its September return.