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Zucker, president of the CNN news channel, has finally reached the painful conclusion that “Piers Morgan Live” is dead in the water.
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CNN president Jeff Zucker has announced that he has called it quits on UK TV personality Piers Morgan’s peak time chat show, which increasingly failed to draw the audience figures which the news channel enjoyed for many years when Larry King held the cherished 9.00 p.m. slot.
Morgan was appointed to replace King, who had held the spot for decades and was deemed as being irreplaceable field to attract audience figures, with the final damning evidence came when your figures show that you Morgan was drawing audiences of less than 50, 000 in the desirable 25-to-54 year-old demographic sector in the last few weeks.
According to a spokesperson at CNN, “Piers Morgan Live” could be disappearing from the airwaves as early as March and at the latest April, although there is considerable speculation that Zucker may be considering retaining Morgan’s services with the CNN news network, but in another role.
According to industry watchers, Morgan failed to build up any real credibility with CNN’s audience, who found it difficult to hear someone from the UK passing opinions on cultural issues relating to the United States, particularly his strong views on gun laws.
During his three-year stint Piers Morgan interviewed some very high-profile guests, among them former US President Bill Clinton, financier Warren Buffett and TV chat show superstar Oprah Winfrey, who was his first guest.
In a recent interview Morgan hinted that he felt that the show had “run its course” and that he had been talking for some with Zucker about different roles for him within the company, in the likely event that the show would be wound up.
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Zucker has only been in charge at CNN since the beginning of 2013, yet during that short time, has succeeded in revitalising the channel activities, placing less of an accent on news and introducing more films and documentaries. According to industry onlookers primetime remains the weak link for Zucker, with considerable speculation that he was attempting to lure Jay Leno to take a prime-time spot when he became available, which he now has after leaving the Tonight Show earlier this month.-
So far there has been no sign of Jay arriving at CNN, although Jeff Zucker did succeed in headhunting Bill Weir, the long-running Nightline anchorman on ABC News, although there has been no news on where Weir will be placed.
Jeff Zuckergraduated from Harvard College in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in American history.
Almost immediately after graduation Zucker joined NBC, researching material for the 1988 Summer Olympics for their sports channel, later going on to take up the role of field producer for the Today program on NBC News in January 1989.
Zucker was later promoted to executive producer of Today in January 1992 when he was aged just 26, making him the youngest ever executive producer for the program, later going on to serve as executive producer for NBC ‘s Nightly News, where he spent close to eight years. Under his leadership, Today became the most popular morning news show in the United States as well as being its most profitable.
Jeff went on to serve as president of NBC Entertainment, later going on to additionally handle their News & Cable Group eventually being promoted to President of the group in 2007, a post he held for six years before joining CNN at the beginning of last year.
