Source: Michael Chang / Getty
Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is rumored to be the host of a new primetime show on CNN along with anchor Gayle King.
According to reports, the Inside The NBA host and analyst is close to a deal to join the CBS This Morning host to lead a new primetime show on CNN. One source states that there is some risk that the deal won’t be finalized. “No one expects a deal to be finalized right away,” a source close to the negotiations says. However, CNN head Chris Licht is reportedly “optimistic” that the deal is done.
While Barkley has not responded to press requests for comment, he has gone on record before about such a move to the New York Post. “They are trying to pair Gayle King and me,” Barkley said in February. “We don’t have anything set in stone. I’m only considering it because of my respect for Gayle. It would be an honor and a privilege to work with Gayle.” King has not offered any comment, and CNN did not respond to press inquiries.
Reportedly the issue before anything is finalized is CBS News “dragging its feet,” according to a source. The same source says King has been spending the past few weeks in negotiations to rework her current deal to take the job. CBS This Morning is a major generator of ratings and ad profits for the news division, whose parent company is Paramount Global. She and Licht worked together during the 2010s when Licht served as a producer for the company’s news division.
If completed, the new show would be a big opportunity for CNN to boost its sluggish ratings before a pivotal point – the “upfront” sales season where media companies in the U.S. work to sell billions of dollars in advertising before the new slate of programming is aired. Barkley has already signed a new 10-year deal with TNT to remain as a host on Inside The NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent network for TNT and CNN. The 9 p.m. slot is where the new show would be expected to air – but sources say it would run only Tuesday through Friday, as to avoid competing directly with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow which airs only on Mondays and dominates that primetime slot.
