This cable network is being played and is going to have to pay millions annually to a new host who won’t get the ratings the network desperately wants, but will be forced to pay for a decade because of the way the deal is structured.

At least if they go for the former basketball player, they will get headlines and controversy on a fairly regular basis and that will bring in viewers.

CNN

Gayle King

Charles Barkley

Gayle King, Charles Barkley Near Deal to Host CNN Primetime Show

A news King and Sir Charles are getting ready to mix it up in an unorthodox way.

Gayle King and Charles Barkley are finalizing a deal that would have them jointly lead a primetime hour each week on CNN, according to people familiar with the matter. The pact is not complete and there is always the risk it may not come to fruition, one of these people says. CNN declined to make executives available for comment.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that a deal involving King was nearing completion, but it has been an open secret in TV-news circles that CNN has been courting both personalities — and others like them — for some time. Puck reported on negotiations with both King and Barkley earlier this year.

CBS News declined to offer immediate comment on expectations it had for King, who is also the center of its “CBS Mornings” on weekdays — a critical generator of ad dolls for the Paramount Global news-and-stations division. A spokesperson for Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, which has relied on Barkley for years as a host of its popular “Inside the NBA,” could not be reached for immediate comment. Warner Bros. Discovery also owns CNN. – Source

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