CNN boss Chris Licht has reportedly approached previous CBS pal Gayle King to assist juice the prime time scores of his struggling community.
Licht has pitched the “CBS Mornings” anchor to host or co-host a weekly present at evening on CNN in a deal that might enable her to retain her day job at CBS, in accordance with a report from Puck News.
The transfer would reunite the previous Tiffany Community govt with King, who has rose to prominence at CBS Information for buzzy interviews with the likes of R&B singer R. Kelly, President Joe Biden, actor Will Smith and the household of slain Memphis man Tyre Nicols.
“Chris has talked to dozens and dozens of individuals to gauge curiosity in potential tasks at CNN,” a rep for CNN instructed The Publish on Tuesday.
King and CBS Information didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Throughout his time at CBS, Licht helped efficiently reboot “CBS This Morning,” (lately rebranded “CBS Mornings”) in 2012, bringing on co-hosts Charlie Rose, Norah O’Donnell and King.
Whereas a CNN deal would translate into lengthy hours for King, it’s not remarkable for an anchor to moonlight for rival networks. Anderson Cooper hosts a nightly present on CNN and likewise serves as a correspondent for CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
Since decamping for CNN final yr, Licht has struggled to remaking the ratings-challenged community, and is now searching for large expertise to assist increase viewership.
Licht instructed the Los Angeles Occasions this week that he’s “in conversations with related people from the worlds of leisure, sports activities and comedy who can carry recent and distinctive views to the information” to fill the community’s coveted 9 pm slot.
However a part of CNN’s dilemma is budgetary below guardian firm Warner Bros. Discovery, which wants to chop no less than $3.5 billion by the top of 2023. Staffers at CNN have seen the influence of that mandate already.
In lower than a yr on the job, Licht has slashed lots of of jobs and reshuffled the community’s lineup in an effort to maneuver CNN away from commentary-driven and partisan opinion in favor of straight information.
The exec’s greatest programming transfer so far has been to launch “CNN This Morning,” a brand new morning present co-hosted by Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. Whereas the present has had some wins, its scores have usually been lackluster.
In keeping with Nielsen knowledge, the present had its lowest-rated week earlier this month because it launched final November, averaging simply 331,000 viewers—lower than a 3rd of Fox Information’ “Fox & Buddies” and fewer than half of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”—and simply 65,000 within the 25-to-54-year-old demo.