Gayle King on even thinner ice as CBS News’ enormous ‘losses’ are revealed

Gayle King’s future at CBS News may be on thin ice after a bombshell report revealed the network is losing about $50million a year.

Sources told Dylan Byer’s Puck newsletter that the network, which was recently bought by Skydance Media’s David Ellison, will look to bring down talent salaries as it overhauls the news division.

But CBS denied the report of their massive losses, telling Daily Mail on Friday: ‘A published report that CBS News is losing “around $50million a year” is inaccurate. In fact, the division is currently profitable.’

Meanwhile former CNN journalist Oliver Darcy reported in his Status newsletter that ‘many industry watchers saw the scoop as a harbinger of painful cost-cutting.’

Darcy noted that Paramount’s new chief, former NBCUniversal president Jeff Shell, has shared his desire to make cuts in order to run the network more efficiently.

He said sources told him someone inside the network may have leaked the inaccurate losses report to justify massive cuts.

As Darcy wrote, ‘a report of $50million in annual losses would all but guarantee drastic belt-tightening at CBS News.’

The report comes as gossip about Gayle King’s future at the third-place network reached a high this month.

Gayle King’s future may be on thinner ice than previously thought after a report claimed CBS News is losing about $50million a year

Skydance Media’s David Ellison, who just acquired CBS News, is reportedly looking to cut costs at CBS News

Sources told Daily Mail that King may be on the way out as her $15million-a-year contract is up next May.

King’s contract will ‘most likely’ not be renewed by CBS News’ new owners at that point, one source said.

Another conceded King’s departure was indeed likely, but that conversations were still being had.

Staffers at the Tiffany Network spoke with Fox News on the matter as well.

One addressed swirling internal talk about Skydance CEO David Ellison – the son of MAGA billionaire Larry Ellison – pulling the plug on King as co-host.

The staffer said current network leadership has ‘started to groom’ Adriana Diaz as a sort of ‘heir’ to King in case her contract is not renewed.

Another report by the New York Post claimed King and executive producer Shawna Thomas have alienated viewers with ultra-progressive programming.

Ratings for the last-place morning show, once a cash cow for the network, have dropped to below 2million in recent months, according to Nielsen figures cited by the Post.

One staffer said current network leadership has ‘started to groom’ Adriana Diaz (pictured) as a sort of ‘heir’ to King in case her contract is not renewed

Paramount’s new chief, former NBCUniversal president Jeff Shell, has shared his desire to cut run the network more efficiently

Sources told Daily Mail that King may be on the way out as her $15million-a-year contract is up next May. Co-Hosts Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil, and Nate Burleson are seen with CBS Mornings Executive Producer Shawna Thomas

Meanwhile Gayle lost between 20 to 30 percent of her audience in the last three weeks when compared to last year in the coveted 25- to 54-year-old demographic.

‘The audience doesn’t want woke. It doesn’t like progressive and provocative bookings,’ one of the sources told The Post.

The morning show audience wants optimism and cheer and joy and what they were producing is at odds with audience expectations.’

Gayle signed a contract extension last year for between $13 and $15million that is scheduled to end in May 2026, a source told The Post.

Skydance Media, which is to take over running CBS likely won’t offer Gayle the same deal given the ratings, the source added.

The potential morning show shake up comes as CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, whose own reported $15million contract also ends next May.