The last-place CBS morning show is ditching its state-of-the-art Times Square studio — which cost it millions to build — after just four years as the beleaguered network scrambles to cut costs, The Post has learned.
“CBS Mornings” — co-hosted by Gayle King, Nate Burleson and Tony Dokoupil — will move back to its dingy former home at CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street from the luxe digs at 1515 Broadway, according to source with knowledge of the situation.
“It’s all about saving money,” the network insider said. “This is another example of them not competing. It’s going back in time.”
The struggling morning show posted an all-time weekly ratings low last week since it was relaunched on September 20, 2021 – drawing under 1.87 million total viewers, according to Nielsen.
The move, which is slated for September, comes as CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon slashes costs as part of a bigger mandate at corporate parent Paramount Global to cut $500 million from the budget ahead of its hoped-for merger with Skydance Media.
A source told The Post that “CBS Mornings” will share a smaller studio with “CBS Evening News,” which was recently overhauled after the broadcast returned to New York from DC following the exit of anchor Norah O’Donnell.
McMahon’s job has been rumored to be on the line as shell-shocked staffers lose faith in her leadership, another well-placed source told The Post.
“The atmosphere at CBS News is one of fear,” the source said. “Nobody opens their mouths because they are scared of losing their jobs.”
CBS News declined to comment.
The Tiffany Network had been renting the Times Square space, which once hosted the long-running MTV program “TRL,” from Paramount Global, formerly known as ViacomCBS.
Another source speculated that Paramount could rent out the “CBS Mornings” studio to another tenant or that perhaps there is a broader strategy to slim down its real estate footprint before the new owner comes in.
Sharing the cramped space with the “Evening News” crew poses its own challenges, despite recent upgrades to the gloomy studio such as an LED floor.
“The studio is much smaller. There’s no space for couches for when the morning show hosts interview A-listers,” one source said.
When the morning show was moved in 2021, newly appointed CBS News co-presidents Neeraj Khemlani and McMahon touted the cutting edge storytelling capabilities of the studio to the press.
“The new studio in the heart of Times Square will bring us a wealth of new opportunities for high-quality production, changing our look without changing our commitment to impactful news in the morning,” he told trade publication NewsCastStudio at the time.”
But the move instantly drew the ire of King and other staffers because the windows overlooking Times Square had been covered up — preventing onlookers on the street from gawking at the live broadcast, as The Post previously reported.
Instead, the anchors sit in front of big LED screens that project a manufactured view of Times Square.
One thing the anchors likely won’t miss about the Times Square studio is that Paramount shut off the heat overnight, leading to gripes about having to arrive to a freezing set in the wee hours of the morning.
Since the move to 1515 Broadway, the network has gone through a series of layoffs and leadership changes, including Khemlani getting ousted in 2023 and McMahon being promoted to president and CEO.
Under her leadership, the network has prioritized centralizing the news division and leaning on its local news stations for some of its reporting in order to slash costs.
But her decision to replace O’Donnell with John Dickerson and Maurice DuBoise has so far been a ratings disaster.
Credit: Source link
