2018 has been a complicated year for CBS brass, to say the very least, and there's time left to go before it actually ends. That span could see the exit of another very familiar face, as well. CBS This Morning vet Gayle King is reportedly quite unhappy with her current situation, following announcements about changes coming to the broadcast news program, and she's said to be weighing a decision on whether to stay with the network.
If rumors are true, according to Page Six, Gayle King was seriously put off by the news that CBS This Morning's executive producer Ryan Kadro would be leaving. Kadro, who stepped in when predecessor Chris Licht started running point on Stephen Colbert's Late Show, had an expiring contract coming at the end of 2018. CBS claimed his departure has nothing to do with Kadro's management status as connected with a lawsuit focused on the lack of action taken after complaints against Charlie Rose were filed. Regardless of the reasons, King apparently isn't happy.
She's reportedly had to keep a lot of CBS This Morning together, leading to her frustrations, and the lack of Ryan Kadro could be the straw that breaks the esteemed anchor's resolve. Note that she's not alleged to necessarily be leaning one way or the other, but that the option to exit the network was a viable one, despite her own contract expiration not happening for another year.
According to reports, there's hope that CBS' female force will come out ahead once the public gains access to the investigation into the alleged misconduct from Gayle King's former co-anchor Charlie Rose, former CBS top dog Les Moonves and former 60 Minutes producer Jeff Fager. (Rose was fired back in November 2017, so some of those details are a long time coming.)
Not that Gayle King is the only one at CBS This Morning who has felt the brunt of 2018. The early-hours broadcast has been stomped by broadcast competition in past years, but that trend started to shift once This Morning reverted to a more news-centric focus, with King, Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell on the desk. The upward ratings swing was quickly and semi-permanently spun around, though, after reports of Rose's alleged behavior ended his CBS run.
The time since Rose's ousting also hasn't been so celebratory for CBS This Morning's crew, which added John Dickerson. When the show's latest season began in September, both the ratings and viewership were down double-digits when compared to the same time in 2017. Down 14%, the morning show's total audience came in at around 3.11 million viewers, with 808,000 in the key-to-news 25-54 age demographic. That stat was down 16% from the previous year.
Those dips would be one thing if CBS This Morning was rocking it out over ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today, but it's not, since both of those shows are watched by nearly a million more viewers. One can assume the ratings game may also be taking a toll on Gayle King's temperance in addition to the whirlwind happening at the network. Could a new executive producer change that? It's certainly possible.
For now, Gayle King remains intact as part of CBS This Morning's elite. Catch it airing every morning, Monday through Saturday, at 7:00 a.m. ET. To see what shows will be popping up way later in the primetime hours, be sure to keep up with the fall TV schedule the 2019 midseason rundown.
