Piers Morgan replacing Larry King? Slumping ratings are forcing a change at CNN

ATLANTA, GA—The headline says it all and apparently its all but a done deal, Larry King is out, Piers Morgan is in. The Britain’s Got Talent judge is about to ink a £5.5 million ($8,129,177) deal with CNN to replace Mr. King.

 

The former newspaper editor caught the interest of CNN executives with his talk show, Piers Morgan's Life Stories when he interviewed former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The host switch is supposed to occur in the fall (likely before fall sweepstakes) and CNN execs are hoping to rescue the time slot as ratings have fallen a full 3 percent since just last year alone. From January to March of this year, Mr. King’s viewership reached an all time low, with only 771,000 viewers tuning in; by contrast, The O’Reilly Factor garners well over 3 million viewers.

Mr. King, 76, has been on the air since 1985 and was a dominant force for years, but when competition showed up, Mr. King began to lose some of his audience. In part, his interview style morphed into something all but unrecognizable and currently is thoroughly uninteresting. Mr. King has no doubt secured a place in the television host’s hall of fame but he might well find himself with a plaque hanging across the street in the television host’s hall of shame.

-- Killswitch Politick

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Simon Cowell departs from American Idol The show’s creator is on to his next concept, The X Factor

LOS ANGELES, CA—American Idol creator and music executive Simon Cowell sat in his judge’s seat for the final time last week, ending nine seasons of recording breaking TV ratings. The British music mogul and entrepreneur has found enormous success in his brutally honest repertoire.

Clearly a man whom knows how to market himself and his concepts, Mr. Cowell has set a new standard for reality television and hopes his newest venture, The X Factor will outdo American Idol and has amassed a net worth of over $170 million. Cowell’s brilliance comes from bringing to the public what is not seen in music videos: the arduous task of shaping young talent with no direction and prima-donna instincts. His shows reveal what managers and producers have long been yelling from the recording studio.

We wish Mr. Cowell much success in his venture and its short history already has a proven track record for such success; as for American Idol, we believe the best course of action is to re-brand and re-vamp the entire show because you wouldn’t continue to call a show Seinfeld if Jerry Seinfeld had left before the franchise ended.

-- Killswitch Politick

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