CNN’s Gayle King’s Eyes – The Charles Barkley Show amid primetime fall renewal

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by Alexandra Stegrad

March 28, 2023 | 4:24 p.m

Sources told The Post that the Gayle King-Charles Barclay talk show on CNN seems like reality day in and day out.

King, who co-hosts CBS Mornings, is putting out a contract with her current employer so she can take the CNN gig but a source close to the situation said CBS is “slowing it down.”

“Nobody expects an agreement to be finalized immediately,” the source said, noting that it takes some time to reach an agreement. However, it is not clear what the disruption is.

The source added that CNN president Chris Licht is “optimistic” that King and Barclay will be on board to host the show this fall.

The Wall Street Journal On Monday, CNN reported that it was “putting the finishing touches on.” King deal But insiders warn a deal will not be signed for several weeks.

CBS has not commented. King did not respond to requests for comment.

Barkley, who has a huge deal with TNT to co-host Inside the NBA, will likely have an easier time with his contract, since TNT is CNN’s sister network, and both are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

It’s unclear where Barkley’s contract stands, but he recently told The Post that he was considering making a bid “out of respect for Gil King” and that he wanted to help the company.

Barkley did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

CNN did not comment.

The source told The Post that CNN CEO Chris Licht is looking for other big names to fill the 9pm and 10pm slots in order to boost the network’s sagging ratings. The fall network is targeted to launch new programs.

Licht will likely put big names like King and Barkley on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, industry sources said, noting that the network doesn’t want to pit its best talent up against rainmaker Rachel Maddow, who hosts MSNBC’s 9 p.m. Or Fox News’ Sean Hannity, the top-rated weekday host during the time slot.

A source said the 9 p.m. hour will likely be used for weekly shows like The King-Barkley Show, while the 10 p.m. hour will be reserved for a full-time host.

Media sources speculated that CNN was in talks with such loud names as “Daily Show” alumni Jon Stewart and Trevor Noah.

An insider said that while CNN has approached both, neither host will honor the ratings-challenged network. But the source noted that CNN is in talks with comedic talent of this “caliber.”

Licht was scrambling to realign the daytime primetime and network amid plummeting ratings.

According to Nielsen data, CNN averaged 535,000 primetime viewers for the first quarter as of March 24, which is a 35% drop from last year and the lowest quarterly ratings average since 2015.

This month, CNN is set to post its lowest monthly rating in at least three decades among viewers ages 25 to 54, a coveted demographic for advertisers.

So far, Licht, who joined CNN last May, has struggled to find great success with the network. He experimented with putting announcer Jake Tapper in prime time, but the show faltered and Tapper reverted to his regular 4 p.m.

Licht also attempted to revitalize the CNN morning show by rebranding the program, “CNN This Morning”, and reconfiguring the anchor group to include Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins.

But the show’s ratings slipped further into last place amid a slew of bad press for Lemon, who last month put his foot in his mouth by claiming that GOP presidential nominee Nikki Haley wasn’t “in her prime,” which not only upset his participation. presenters Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collin but sparked a firestorm of criticism that led to Lemon publicly apologizing and sending it to “formal training.”