Longtime CBS News anchor Gayle King might be at risk of losing her position as the struggling network experiences declining ratings following its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance.
King’s one-year deal is set to expire in September, and the 70-year-old veteran may encounter challenges in securing a contract extension, sources revealed to the New York Post.
They said her salary – which is believed to be more than $10 million – is just too high to justify CBS Morning’s tanking ratings.
It had already been trimmed last year from $13 million when she inked a new one-year deal.
But getting another one-year deal would be a ‘miracle’ as CBS News tries to cut its costs, one insider explained.
‘This could be Gayle’s last year,’ another added.
Insiders suggested that King lacks significant negotiating strength – and although the renowned anchor might consider another salary reduction, it is expected to be more substantial than the previous year’s as the news division’s ratings continue their downward trend and King faces criticism for her brief space journey.
Gayle King’s one-year contract is due to end in September, and insiders say she will face an uphill battle to renegotiate
King, 70, co-hosts CBS Mornings with Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson
Some 3.9 million viewers tuned into the spectacle the morning of April 14, new Nielsen numbers show.
NBC’s Today, meanwhile, managed 2.489 million total viewers on average in the same week – while Good Morning America at ABC averaged 2.655 million.
But CBS Mornings – which King co-hosts with Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson – quickly dropped back to third place – in both total viewers and the hallowed 25-54 demo.
Its total viewership has now sunk below 2 million total viewers – trailing NBC’s Today Show, which had 2.6 million viewers in the week of May 5, and ABC’s Good Morning America, which garnered 2.7 million viewers.
As one insider said, ‘Skydance is definitely not going to keep her with those numbers.’
Yet others expressed their doubts about King leaving, saying the network is trying to stem its losses.
It has already suffered a blow when former 60 Minutes boss Bill Owens announced his resignation – and on Monday, CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon said she is quitting the network.
On Monday, CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon said she is quitting the network
The embattled network has been facing plummeting ratings
That leaves the number two executive, CBS News President Tom Cibrowski, in charge.
‘Tom doesn’t have enough hands to plug the holes in the dam,’ said one insider, who noted that losing King would be a major shakeup for CBS’ morning program – and would just be another problem Cibrowski would have to solve.
Meanwhile, Paramount – the network’s parent company – is already expected to kick off another round of layoffs as part of its efforts to slash $500 million as soon as next month in preparation for the merger with Skydance.
Assuming that deal goes through, the new management from Skydance is also expected to continue the cost-cutting efforts at the network.
‘The first year of the merger will just be consolidation,’ another source said, while an insider close to Skydance emphasized that ‘No one has given any thought to Gayle King’s contract, as there are clearly other priorities to tackle.’
King has previously been ridiculed for her short flight into space
In fact, executives at the embattled news network are also trying to settle President Donald Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit.
The president has claimed that a 60 Minutes segment featuring Kamala Harris ahead of the 2020 presidential election was deceptively edited.
CBS News has maintained that the then-vice president simply gave a lengthy answer, which was then cut down due to time constraints.
But Shari Redstone, the heiress of Paramount Global, is seeking to settle the suit in an effort to get the merger approved by Trump’s Federal Communications Commission – which is also investigating whether the interview violated ‘news distortion’ rules.
The FCC has already said it will not approve the deal until a settlement between CBS News and Trump is reached.
It also reminded Paramount executives that it may not approve the merger if its investigation finds CBS staffers engaged in bias by ‘deceptively’ editing the 60 Minutes interview, to the point it could constitute ‘distortion.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to CBS News, Paramount and Skydance for comment.
