Gayle King’s time at CBS may be running out.
The star host of “CBS Mornings” — who began her early a.m. stint at the Tiffany Network in 2012 alongside Charlie Rose and Norah O’Donnell — will face tough negotiations to renew a contract that’s coming due in September, sources told The Post.
Insiders said the 70-year-old King’s salary, pegged at more than $10 million, is far too high to justify her show’s plummeting ratings. As previously reported by The Post, King’s yearly compensation got trimmed last year from $13 million when she inked a new one-year deal.
Gayle King’s future at CBS is looking murky ahead of her contract negotiations.Getty Images
“This could be Gayle’s last year,” according to a media insider close to the Tiffany Network.
When King re-upped last year, CBS parent Paramount Global was in the throes of steep budget cuts ahead of its proposed merger with Hollywood studio Skydance Media.
The company is still in upheaval. On Monday, CBS News boss Wendy McMahon stepped down amid steep ratings declines at “CBS Mornings” and “CBS Evening News,” which she tried to overhaul with a new format and anchor lineup.
Now, No. 2 executive, CBS News president Tom Cibrowski, will try to stem the bleeding — which could get worse if King leaves.
“Tom doesn’t have enough hands to plug the holes in the dam,” said a CBS insider, who noted that losing King would majorly shake up the morning program and be another problem the veteran programmer would have to solve.
“CBS Mornings” co-anchors Tony Dokoupil (left), King (middle) and Nate Burleson (right) have seen the show’s viewership slip below 2 million.CBS via Getty Images
Paramount is expected to kick off another round of brutal cuts as part of its mandate to slash $500 million as soon as next month. Assuming Skydance and Paramount close its deal, new management from Skydance are expected to continue cutting, a well-placed source told The Post.
“The first year of the merger will just be consolidation,” the person said.
Skydance declined to comment, but a source close to the company said: “No one has given any thought to Gayle King’s contract as there are clearly other priorities to tackle.”
For King, another big one-year deal will be a “miracle,” a third source added, explaining that CBS has been offering one-year contracts because the anchor is “too expensive.”
CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon stepped down Monday as two of the network’s top shows, “CBS Mornings” and “CBS Evening News” have suffered big ratings declined under her leadership.REUTERS
Normally, talent contracts are for roughly three years. Another person said that King prefers one-year contracts as she is weighing her options on what to do next.
“Gayle sees the writing on the wall,” the person said.
CBS News and King did not respond to requests for comment.
Although King is the face of the network, she doesn’t have much bargaining leverage, sources said. While she could opt to take another pay cut, it would likely be far steeper this time as the embattled news division’s ratings continue to sink.
Her last-placed show, which she co-hosts with Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson, hit a new low since it was relaunched in September 2021.
CBS News president Tom Cibrowski with King.Mike Coppola
In recent weeks, the program’s total viewership sunk below 2 million despite a major boost on April 14 for exclusive coverage of King’s space flight on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket.
The anchor took an 11-minute ride to the edge of space with an all-female crew that included pop star Katy Perry and the Amazon founder’s fiancée Lauren Sanchez – helping her show turn in a rare first-place ratings finish.
The spectacle drew roughly 3.9 million total viewers, rocketing past ABC’s “Good Morning America” and NBC’s “Today,” which reeled in 2.7 million and 2.5 million viewers, respectively, according to Nielsen ratings.
The embattled CBS News faces a fresh round of cuts ahead of parent Paramount’s expected merger with Skydance, according to reports.AP
“CBS Mornings’” ratings, however, have since come back to Earth, with 1.9 million viewers in the week of May 5, trailing NBC with 2.6 million and ABC with 2.7 million viewers.
“Skydance is definitely not going to keep her with those numbers,” the first source said.
While Skydance is widely expected to merge with Paramount in the coming months, the deal is facing hurdles.
Currently, Paramount is in talks with Trump’s lawyers over his $20 billion lawsuit over “60 Minutes’” editing of its sit-down with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump’s FCC chair Brendan Carr is also looking into the matter.
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