A longtime network morning show veteran believes Gayle King “has lost a lot of her leverage” as CBS Mornings struggles in third place, with a major ownership shakeup just days away.
Last month, the FCC approved an $8 billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media, a deal set to close Thursday. Once finalized, Skydance CEO David Ellison will take control of CBS News, a division that has long trailed its morning competitors.
Ellison, who was spotted sitting with President Donald Trump at a UFC event in April, is expected to steer CBS News away from what critics view as a liberal tilt. His team has already pledged to appoint an ombudsman to monitor editorial content, and staffers are anticipating more sweeping changes.
The shakeup has put CBS Mornings—anchored by King, Tony Dokoupil, and Nate Burleson—under renewed scrutiny. The program has never consistently challenged NBC’s Today or ABC’s Good Morning America, instead settling into a steady third-place position.
In July, CBS Mornings averaged 1.8 million viewers, compared to 2.7 million for GMA and 2.4 million for Today. Year-to-date, the show is averaging 1.9 million viewers, down 10% from the same period in 2024. Among adults 25–54, the decline is steeper—averaging 332,000 viewers in 2025, a drop of 25% from last year’s 441,000.
While other morning shows have also seen declines since 2024, CBS’s drop has been far more pronounced. Since the 2024 election, CBS Mornings has lost 6% of its total audience and 18% of its demo viewers.
King, a fixture in entertainment and political circles, has yet to reverse the ratings slide despite frequent publicity. In July, she was photographed vacationing on a yacht in Spain with Oprah Winfrey and Kris Jenner after attending Jeff Bezos’ lavish wedding.
Her high-profile Blue Origin space flight in April brought a temporary ratings boost, but viewership has since dipped—down 5% overall and 17% in the demo since the trip. The stunt also drew environmental criticism and questions over whether it was worth the resources.
Industry chatter suggests that incoming executives may take a hard look at King’s future when her contract expires in May 2026. “Gayle is the only CBS News employee making eight figures, and she’s gotten anything she wants for years… Now that the numbers are slipping badly, Gayle has lost a lot of her leverage,” one veteran producer told Fox News Digital.
King’s strong support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is also at odds with Ellison’s reported plans to scale back such initiatives. In 2017, she faced criticism for vacationing with the Obamas while covering politics, a move some said blurred professional boundaries.
A CBS News staffer told Fox News Digital that King is “insulated by her team,” led by executive producer Shawna Thomas. However, CBS News president Tom Cibrowski and senior vice president Wendy Fisher are already pushing an “editorial shift” toward stories focused on middle America and everyday issues.
“I know Tom has been involved in the show heavily,” the staffer said. “He wants us to focus on stories outside of major cities and in the middle of the country—stories real people are talking about at home.”
This fall, CBS Mornings will move from its Times Square studio back to the CBS Broadcast Center on 57th Street in New York City. What other changes may follow once Skydance fully takes over remains to be seen.
CBS News declined to comment.
