*Gayle King is set to become the highest-paid host at CNN, and she’ll only be putting in one hour of work a week.
The veteran news anchor is set to pocket at least $12 million per year as part of her deal with the network to help boost the cable giant’s lowest ratings in decades, RadarOnline.com reports.
King’s new primetime show has not officially been announced but it will not affect her day job at CBS, according to Puck News. King reportedly earns more than $13 million per year at CBS.
We reported previously that NBA star Charles Barkley will so join King as he is said to be in final negotiations to fill one of the vacant weeknight time slots at CNN.
READ MORE: Gayle King Reportedly Closing Deal with CNN to Host Primetime Show
According to Page Six, execs hope to bring Barkley on board to also help boost the poor ratings in the wake of Chris Cuomo’s firing. Barkley is currently a sports analyst for TNT.
“Gayle will not only be the highest paid person at CNN, she and Charles will be the highest paid on-air pair,” an insider told RadarOnline.com.
“It will also make Gayle one of the highest people on television when you add her CBS contract into the mix,” the source added.
According to CNN’s March 1 ratings, its prime-time audience averages 575,000. This is a 30% decline from a year ago and the “lowest quarterly rating average since 2015.”
“We’ve been openly experimenting with a variety of programming directions over the past few weeks,” a CNN spokesperson told NYT earlier this year. “Without an established format, cadence or promotion for that hour, the network has focused exclusively on producing smart and meaningful content — not on ratings.”
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