Gayle King Expected to Depart as ‘CBS Mornings’ Anchor Amid CBS News Overhaul (EXCLUSIVE)

According to four people who know what’s going on, Gayle King, who has been the face of CBS News’ morning show for more than ten years, will leave as an anchor of that show next year. King might go to a different job in the news section, which is getting a complete makeover under the new Paramount Skydance regime.

King’s current contract will end in May. There are signals CBS would like her to stay on board with the news division, maybe with an agreement to produce her own content for the network. Norah O’Donnell, who used to host “CBS Evening News,” left that job in January and became a senior correspondent for CBS News. She now works on a variety of programs and stories.

As Paramount cuts connections with scores of CBS News employees and hundreds more within the bigger corporation, negotiations are about to begin. King would be the latest in a long line of top CBS employees to leave their jobs. The company is changing hands from the Redstones, the former controlling shareholders, to the Ellisons, who want to move CBS News away from content they think is too liberal. Earlier this month, Bari Weiss, a digital entrepreneur who started the conservative opinion site The Free Press, was named editor in chief of CBS News. Weiss needs to deal with a lot of things, and King’s future in the division is at the top of the list. A CBS News representative responded in response to Variety’s request for a comment on King’s future at “CBS Mornings,” “There have been no talks with Gayle about her contract, which runs through May 2026.” We really regard her as a member of CBS and look forward to talking to her about the future. Lawrence Shire of Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, who is King’s lawyer, did not reply to many requests for comment. As the Ellisons took more control of Paramount, CBS made big changes. Before Skydance Media officially bought Paramount, CBS canceled its most popular late-night show, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” which will finish in May. The network is also letting go of John Dickerson, who is one of the current anchors of “CBS Evening News.” CBS News said on Wednesday that it would change its Saturday morning show and end its relationships with co-anchors Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson, as well as executive producer Brian Applegate. Lisa Ling and Nikki Battiste are among the other well-known staffers who will go.

Moving King is a risky move, especially since morning TV is all about the connections viewers make with the hosts. If people think King was unfairly fired, they could be ready to watch shows like NBC’s “Today” or ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Over the years, NBC News has found this challenge twice. People didn’t like Deborah Norville when she became co-anchor of “Today” in 1989 because they thought she had pushed Jane Pauley out of the way. And in 2012, viewers were unhappy with “Today” when Ann Curry was pushed out of her co-anchor post because producers were worried about the relationship between her and co-host Matt Lauer. But viewers didn’t agree, and “Today” kept losing viewers and ratings after she left.

Even though CBS’s morning shows have changed formats and hosts many times over the years, they have always come in third place behind NBC and ABC. According to Nielsen, “CBS Mornings” only got an average of 1.8 million viewers over the five days that concluded on October 24. During that same period, ABC’s “Good Morning America” got an average of almost 2.71 million viewers, and NBC’s “Today” got an average of almost 2.69 million. David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount Skydance, hired Weiss to make CBS News more exciting and to reach a wider audience across the country. King originally signed a contract with CBS News in November 2011 and joined “CBS This Morning” the following January. He has been on morning TV for 14 years, which is no minor feat in today’s media world. Her debut show, “CBS This Morning,” which she worked on with Charlie Rose and Norah O’Donnell, helped CBS get some attention. King helped the show move forward after Rose left because of claims of sexual harassment, which he denied. Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil were the first to take over, and then Dokoupil and Nate Burleson. Now, the show is called “CBS Mornings.” As more people get their news from streaming services and social media, traditional TV news outlets have begun letting go of senior anchors and reporters or shifting them to less expensive roles. CBS’ O’Donnell, NBC News’ Hoda Kotb and Andrea Mitchell and Fox News’ Steve Doocy are among others who have transitioned out of major daily anchor posts in favor of new roles that keep them linked to their networks, but give them less regular screen time. Chris Wallace and Alisyn Camerota of CNN and Neil Cavuto of Fox News are some veterans who have departed their jobs in the past year.

NBC News and CNN, among others, have slashed or moved around jobs as they try to switch to new digital distribution strategies.

During her time, King has made a number of important events happen. In 2019, she got a lot of attention for her interview with R. Kelly. During the conversation, the singer-producer stood up and yelled at her while rejecting the child sexual abuse claims that subsequently put him in jail. Earlier this year, King went to space on a Blue Origin voyage with a team of all women astronauts, including Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez, and others.

She has also helped CBS News get to know Oprah Winfrey, a close friend who has supported King since they worked together early in their careers. For a while, King helped run Winfrey’s Hearst magazine. She would leave her morning show duties for a full day of magazine work in the late morning and afternoon.

Source: https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/gayle-king-cbs-mornings-anchor-out-1236565036/

Share on Social Media