From the New York Times:
Piers Morgan a Step Closer to ‘Larry King’ Chair
By BRIAN STELTER AND BILL CARTER
Piers Morgan, the mean judge on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” is poised to take over Larry King’s coveted time slot on CNN, thanks to an imminent deal between the two media giants that own the channels.
NBC, which attracts 20 million viewers to “Got Talent” each summer, has signaled that it is willing to share Mr. Morgan with CNN. That decision frees Mr. Morgan to directly negotiate with CNN and, according to three people involved in the delicate maneuvering between the companies, a contract could be signed within a few days.
If completed, the deal would vault Mr. Morgan, a native of Britain, onto the Mount Rushmore of TV’s top interviewers, alongside Oprah, Barbara and Katie. It will also demonstrate that CNN thinks there is still room in primetime for long-form interviews with public servants and starlets, a stark contrast to the partisan pundits on its higher-rated competitors.
“Larry King Live” is the biggest vacancy on television this year and the prospect of “Piers Morgan Live” starring a foreign-born talent show judge has baffled many people inside CNN.
Mr. Morgan, 45, is actually an A-list interviewer in his native Britain, and he has essentially been rehearsing for CNN by hosting “Piers Morgan Life Stories,” a series of well-received and high-rated interviews with bigwigs like Gordon Brown and Simon Cowell, on the British network ITV.
A former creature of Fleet Street who edited The Daily Mirror for a decade, Mr. Morgan has all manner of critics, from the NBC viewers who dislike his mean-Brit shtick to the television critics who despise his chilling self-confidence. But as his close friend Simon Cowell has demonstrated on “American Idol,” being unliked can be a shortcut to fame and fortune.
“Almost every other U.K. TV import has been hugely successful,” remarked Tammy Haddad, a former producer of “Larry King Live” who now runs a media consulting company.
For CNN, Mr. Morgan’s judgeship on the talent show could be a promotional platform to attract desperately needed younger viewers –or it could be a source of awkwardness for a channel that calls itself “the most trusted name in news.”
The 9 p.m. hire is a critically important one for CNN as it tries to rebuild its low-rated prime time lineup. Last month it said it had hired Eliot Spitzer and Kathleen Parker as the future co-hosts of an 8p.m. discussion show.
“The 9 p.m. hour is the linchpin of any success in cable news,” Ms. Haddad said. “As a cable channel, it tells viewers who you are and what you care about.”
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Piers Morgan Live?
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7 comments:
Geesh, what the? I won't watch it but curious to ask if anyone of the commenters out there would watch this talked about show?
@Tedi B: I wouldn't watch this show because to me, there is really no difference between Piers Morgan and Sean Penn. Think About it.
Tedi B I will not be watchinng. The guy worked
for a British tabloid and was fired for publishing
fake photos.CNN just keeps letting it;s viewers
down. It is time to say I have had it with CNN.
When you watch BBC News you don't see any
American reporters. Know why ? The Brits are
not fans of American journalism they think it
is to lowbrow.I am starting to wonder is the
suits even care about CNN. The farther CNN
moves away from news the bigger their
problems will become. CNN is going down in
flames and no one is putting out the fire.
They are just doing more to keep the fire
going until there is nothing left to save.
At this point I am starting to wonder if the
TW brass even cares about CNN.I seriously
doubt that they would stand by and let HBO,
Cartoon Network, TNT, TBS or Warner Bros
go down the drain. Why is this acceptable
for CNN ? I don't think Time Warner really
cares about CNN and it shows. right now I
only watch 360 and Tj, Don and Fred on the
weekends. Most of CNN's shows turn me off
and I see no reason to watch CNN this fall.
If The Daily Show can pull 1.6 million viewers during the summer, according to USA Today, why can't CNN get its head out of the sand, I was going to say something else, and reach one million? Even 900 in totals would look good for one of the primetime shows.
No, they can't be Jon Stewart. No one can be Jon and no one can be Larry, but with ALL the talent that's out there, CNN has to pick the second most disliked Brit to replace Larry? The first being his look-a-like, Tony Hayward.
On this subject, I was watching Megyn Kelly today, I know some posters say, Fox has a different audience than CNN. Well, NO, not really. If CNN spent more time analyzing why the competition is doing well, and less time saying "they are just partisan," it might help.
Megyn is not partisan, at least while I watched. She has a very emphatic way of delivery about her, and it draws the viewer in.
Fox knows their demos and they know that some of their audience, like myself, watch BOTH...just to compare and ask Why? So Why can't management do the same?
Not every show on Fox is partisan.
Sorry, this is a cop-out. They're just smarter.
Teddi B. If you want to know how I really feel, I feel like vomiting.
Morgan is worse than Spitzer. At least Spitzer is an American.
Hope CNN likes being behind the Weather Channel, way behind and I'll be happy as well.
There's a very good interview on TVN with Larry King about who should replace him and whether Piers Morgan, I'd like to throw up,
Is a good fit.
Larry is very gracious about it all, and he was always endearing and that's something you can't duplicate. He seems to favor Ryan Seacrest. I don't know why. He says the camera "loves" him, Yes, Larry, maybe, BUT the people I know, don't. He mentions AC and Katie Couric as fitting in, but the truth is, only Katie would make the cut.... and she's already said no. Smart.
That's all too bad for CNN, because the worst possible choice was THIS GUY. Let's ALL vote with our remotes, shall we? Maybe then Klein will consider the VIEWER.
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