Gayle King Strikes New Deal to Extend Stay at CBS News
A day will come when Gayle King decides to step down from her prominent role at “CBS Mornings.” But that day is not today.
King and CBS News have struck a deal to extend her contract, according to people familiar with the matter. King, who has been at CBS News since taking a role at the show once called “CBS This Morning” in 2011, last renewed her deal with CBS in 2022. CBS News declined to make executives available for comment. King’s decision was previously reported by The New York Post.
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CBS extends her contact when its morning show has taken on a new fighting edge. “CBS Mornings,” like other CBS News programs, runs third in the ratings behind ABC News’ “Good Morning America” and NBC News’ “Today,” but in recent months has narrowed the gap with the ABC program in a critical audience category — people between 25 and 54, the demographic most coveted by advertisers in news programming.
For the week of September 9, for example, “GMA” won an average of 433,000 viewers between 25 and 54, according to Nielsen, while “CBS Mornings” attracted an average of 409,000. With CBS making headway in a meaningful way, the network would likely be loath to change personnel on the morning program.
CBS News has more in store for its morning show. On September 30, the Paramount Global network is expected to launch a third hour of the program, co-anchored by Tony Dokoupil and Adriana Diaz.
King renews her pact at a time when Paramount is under pressure to cut costs. The company, which is slated to be acquired by Skydance Media, has articulated a plan to trim $500 million off its corporate base, and has been winnowing down publicity and marketing staffers, among others. Skydance executives have said they expect to take even more out of the company following completion of the transaction.
King, who is easy to talk to on camera and off, is known for an ability to snare prominent newsmakers and cultural figures for revealing interviews — even if the topics are often not the ones her subjects wish to discuss. Some of her most recent “gets” include Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, Cherelle Griner, Megan thee Stallion, Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend and Kenneth Walker.
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