*Gayle King has no plans to part ways with CBS anytime soon amid reports that networks are expected to explode in a bidding war for the veteran journalist when her contract with CBS News expires in May,
King, 67, reportedly earns around $9 million a year as an anchor on “CBS Mornings,” and Page Six reports that CBS sources said they “will do everything we can to keep King.”
According to Urban Hollywood 411, King signed a new contract with the network on Friday, Jan. 28, and shared the news with listeners on her SiriusXM radio show.
“I called my favorite daughter Kirby, favorite son Will, and called Oprah of course… and said I just signed with CBS today,” King shared. “I officially signed on the dotted line.”
READ MORE: Networks Expected to Battle Over Gayle King When Her CBS Contract Ends
We previously reported that before King made the announcement, one TV insider said, “Gayle’s contract is up at CBS in a few months and the networks are gearing up for a bidding war for the ages.” The insider noted that MSNBC “could possibly put in a huge bid to have Gayle take over Rachel Maddow’s vacant nightly slot.”
A separate TV insider added, “If ABC or NBC gets Gayle, it’s game over at CBS for talent.
“The question is, does Gayle want to carry on the morning show in New York when her whole family and best friend are on the West Coast?
“ABC could give her the third hour of ‘GMA’ to host from Los Angeles, or a different daytime show.
“Gayle has proven herself as one of the most talented broadcasters on TV, so the bottom line here is money, and what Gayle wants to do.”
King recently celebrated her 10 year anniversary as a presenter on the show that was previously called “CBS This Morning” and addressed the speculation about her future with CBS.
“I just celebrated my 10 years at CBS. I have long history… long history there. And you know, there’s lots of speculation about ‘what Gayle’s gonna do, where is she gonna go?’ … ‘Is she being courted?’ The answer was yes,” she said. “You know, ‘she has a grandchild, does she wanna move to California?’ The answer is no. I mean, I don’t know why people thought that just because you have a grandchild now all of a sudden you just want to give up your career and go sit in California… I still feel that in many ways I’m just getting started.”
King joined CBS News in 2011 and currently hosts CBS Mornings.
