Does Gayle King have a future with CBS? That’s what everyone is wondering after rumors have swirled for months that she’s leaving the network in May. A new report claims that the popular morning host was given an ultimatum to stay put. Keep reading to find out the latest on the ongoing saga.
Gayle King Allegedly Targeted By New Boss
Gayle King was one of the original co-hosts of CBS’s morning program, CBS This Morning. She continued with the show when it was rebranded This Morning and moved studios in New York City. Viewers assumed she would be with the network for years to come. But Variety dropped a shocking article in October that claimed CBS didn’t intend to renew Gayle King’s contract when it expires in May 2026.
Both Gayle King and CBS denied the report, but rumors have persisted in the months since. Now that 2026 is here, the speculation has reached a fever pitch. The upheaval at CBS is the result of a merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media.
The first thing Paramount Skydance did after the merger was lay off thousands of staffers, including hundreds at CBS. Bari Weiss was named the new editor-in-chief of CBS’s news division. The new boss canceled CBS Saturday Mornings. But that was just the beginning of the changes. John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois left CBS Nightly News. Gayle King’s CBS Mornings co-host, Tony Dokoupil, took over.
Now, Gayle King’s future with the morning program is in doubt. Some sources claim that the morning host has a target on her back.
Morning Host Given Ultimatum To Stay At CBS News?
Gayle King signed a one-year contract extension last year and reportedly took a massive pay cut. However, the network is reportedly looking for more ways to cut costs after the merger. And Gayle King’s hefty salary is in the crosshairs.
In a new report, sources told Variety that one move could possibly save Gayle King’s job: another pay cut. Her current payday is between $13 and $15 million. One of Gayle King’s options to stay at CBS would allegedly include cutting her pay in half in exchange for a one-year extension, giving her time to properly say goodbye to viewers.
Another option is to take a step back and only report on “special” events. Bari Weiss is reportedly interested in bringing NBC’s Hoda Kotb to CBS with a headlining show.
The morale at CBS News is reportedly at an all-time low amid so many changes. One source explained why Tony Dokoupil isn’t bringing in massive ratings at CBS Evening News.
“When you have that kind of chaos, what you see people do is they retreat to safety. They don’t want to rise. They don’t want to look as if they are identified as anybody’s person,” Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the associate dean at Yale’s School of Management, told the outlet.
CBS Mornings regularly loses to NBC and ABC in the ratings. Gayle King’s alleged departure is supposed to change that.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger