You're sitting on the couch, the weekend is winding down, and you just want to catch the most iconic ticking clock in television history. But then you realize something's off. Maybe the football game ran long. Or perhaps there's a special awards show bumping everything back. Figuring out when is 60 minutes on tv shouldn't feel like a high-stakes investigation, yet here we are, refreshing Twitter and checking local listings because CBS sports coverage is notoriously unpredictable.
Honestly, the "standard" answer is 7:00 PM ET/PT on Sundays. Simple, right? Not really. If you live in the Eastern or Central time zones, that start time is basically a suggestion during the fall and winter months.
Why the 60 Minutes Start Time is Always Moving
The primary culprit is the NFL. CBS carries a massive slate of Sunday afternoon games. When those games go into overtime or simply run past the 7:00 PM window—which happens more often than not during the regular season—the entire Sunday night lineup shifts.
It’s a domino effect. If a game ends at 7:12 PM, 60 Minutes starts at 7:12 PM. This "slide" is a rite of passage for long-time viewers. You learn to recognize the specific tone of the NFL post-game show, knowing that as soon as James Brown or Terry Bradshaw stops talking, the stopwatch is coming.
In the Pacific and Mountain time zones, things are usually a bit more stable. CBS typically broadcasts a "clean" feed for the West Coast, meaning you’ll almost always see the show right at 7:00 PM local time regardless of what happened in the afternoon games out East. However, during the playoffs or major events like the Masters, all bets are off.
Checking Your Local Listings the Right Way
Don’t just trust the guide on your remote. Those digital grids often fail to update in real-time when a game runs long. If you're wondering when is 60 minutes on tv during a chaotic sports Sunday, your best bet is actually the CBS social media accounts or the "Eye on CBS" alerts. They are surprisingly quick at announcing the specific "start in the East/Central" times down to the minute.
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It's also worth noting that the show doesn't air 52 weeks a year with fresh content. Like any major network pillar, they rely on "best of" episodes or "updated" segments during the summer months or over holiday breaks. If you tune in and see a story you recognize from six months ago, you haven't entered a time warp; it's just the seasonal cycle of news magazines.
The Streaming Factor: Paramount+ and Beyond
We don't live in 1975 anymore. You aren't tethered to a broadcast signal. If the sports delay is driving you crazy, you have options.
Paramount+ is the digital home for the show. If you have the "Premium" or "With SHOWTIME" tier, you can actually stream your local CBS station live. This doesn't solve the "NFL delay" problem—the live stream will show exactly what the broadcast tower is putting out—but it does mean you can watch it on your phone while someone else uses the big TV for the game.
For those who miss the broadcast entirely, segments are usually uploaded to the 60 Minutes website and their YouTube channel shortly after the West Coast airing finishes.
What Happens During Big Events?
Sometimes the answer to when is 60 minutes on tv is "it isn't."
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CBS is the home of the Grammy Awards and, occasionally, the Super Bowl. On those specific Sundays, the news magazine usually takes a backseat. They might air a special "classic" episode at an earlier time, or they might vacate the night entirely. The same goes for the NCAA March Madness tournament. When the Final Four or the Championship bridge into Sunday nights, the ticking clock goes silent for a week.
A Legacy That Defies the Schedule
Why do we care so much about a 60-year-old show's schedule? It’s about the prestige. Ever since Don Hewitt launched the program in 1968, it has set the gold standard for investigative journalism. Whether it’s Morley Safer’s reporting from Vietnam or Mike Wallace’s legendary "ambush" interviews, the show has a weight that Good Morning America or local news simply doesn't carry.
The show survives because it adapted. It isn't just about "talking heads" anymore. They use high-end cinematography that looks more like a feature film than a news segment. They've embraced the "long-form" style that podcast listeners love, but with the visual punch of network TV budgets.
Even the intro—that simple, rhythmic ticking—is a psychological trigger. It tells the viewer that the weekend is over and it's time to pay attention. It’s the "Sunday Night Blues" in audio form, but in a way that feels productive.
Understanding the 60 Minutes "Classic" and "Presents" Tags
Sometimes you’ll see the show listed as 60 Minutes Presents. This is usually a thematic episode. Instead of three disparate stories (e.g., a political scandal, a profile of a movie star, and a nature segment), they’ll dedicate the whole hour to one topic.
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- Wildlife Specials: Often narrated by Bill Whitaker or Anderson Cooper, these are huge hits for Discover-style audiences.
- Political Deep Dives: Especially during election years, the show will consolidate interviews with candidates into a single block.
- Archives: Sometimes they’ll pull a story from 20 years ago, add a 5-minute update at the end, and re-air it.
If you see these labels in your TV guide, the start time remains the same, but the vibe of the show changes. It’s less "breaking news" and more "documentary."
Actionable Steps for the Reliable Viewer
If you want to ensure you never miss a segment due to a schedule shift, here is the protocol used by the pros.
First, download the CBS app or the Paramount+ app and enable "Breaking News" notifications. They will often push a notification when the Sunday night schedule is finalized after a football delay.
Second, if you use a DVR, always set your 60 Minutes recording to "Stop 60 minutes late." This is the oldest trick in the book. By telling your DVR to keep recording for an hour after the scheduled end time, you account for almost any NFL overtime scenario. There is nothing worse than getting 12 minutes into a fascinating interview with a whistleblower only for the recording to cut off because a game went into double overtime.
Third, bookmark the 60 Minutes "Overtime" page. This is a digital-only supplement where they show behind-the-scenes footage and extra interview clips that didn't make the broadcast. If the show is shortened due to a massive delay (which occasionally happens), they will often move the full segments there.
Finally, keep an eye on the "doubleheader" schedule. The NFL rotates which network (CBS or FOX) gets two games on Sunday. When CBS has the doubleheader, the late game ends around 7:30 PM ET, guaranteed. On those nights, when is 60 minutes on tv is almost certainly going to be 7:30 PM ET/6:30 PM CT. Check the NFL schedule on ESPN or similar sites on Sunday morning; if CBS has the late game in your market, prepare for the delay.
Television schedules feel like a relic of a bygone era, but for 60 Minutes, the "appointment viewing" aspect is part of the charm. It is the last great campfire of American broadcast news. Even if the fire starts 20 minutes late because of a field goal, it’s usually worth the wait.