The rumors surrounding Gayle King’s future at CBS are back. This comes after speculation was circulating in January about whether she’d renew her contract to keep working on CBS Mornings. Ultimately, King called the “leakers out” for making claims about her job security. However, now, amid other drama going on at CBS News, there are new reports circulating about King’s contract and her future with the morning news program.
Apparently, Gayle King has signed a one-year contract at CBS, per Page Six. This, of course, comes after a spokesperson told the outlet in January that they thought the anchor had a “very long future” ahead at the network after she got lunch with CBS News’ new boss, Bari Weiss. Amid this, another source claimed that King’s role at the company could evolve, saying that this could look like what happened to Norah O’Donnell, who went from helming the Evening News to being a senior correspondent for 60 Minutes.
All this is to say, King’s future at CBS seems more uncertain than originally assumed, at least according to this source. As for a reason why this might be the case, the insider alleged that it could be related to all the changes that are currently going on on the morning show. They alleged:
There’s so much turnover. There’s not a permanent third host, it’s a lot of uncertainty, so flexibility for all parties is a good thing.
All this comes after Tony Dokoupil went from co-anchoring mornings with King to leading Evening News. It also happened one month after Mornings EP, Shawna Thomas, announced she’d be leaving.
However, CBS was quick to turn down these rumors, with a spokesperson telling the outlet:
Rumors about Gayle’s contract and future at CBS News have been demonstrably false for months, and this is no exception. As we’ve said all along, she is a truly valued part of CBS News and we couldn’t be more excited about our shared future with her.
So, according to this spokesperson, the network is excited to keep King on this team. However, how long she’ll stay is a bit unclear.
Of course, even though it's not directly related to King, the fact that CBS has been going through a lot of change as we work through the 2026 TV schedule adds to all this, too. In March, CBS News laid off 6% of its staff and shut down CBS News Radio, per CNN. It’s also been reported that starting in June, 60 Minutes could face major changes and layoffs. This is allegedly tied to Weiss claiming that its programming has gone “soft.”
Late last year, CBS News’ daytime schedule saw changes, too, as CBS Saturday Morning got an overhaul. When this news came out, it was reported that co-anchors Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson would be leaving. They did exit the show, and in January, Adriana Diaz and Kelly O'Grady took over as the anchors.
Of course, this isn’t all the changes going on at CBS News and CBS in general. Stephen Colbert’s show was canceled, and the final episode of The Late Show will air next month. There have been more changes and layoffs going on, too, especially in the wake of the Paramount-Skydance merger.
Amid all this, Gayle King’s future has remained a question. Apparently, she’ll be around for at least one more year. However, as we learn more about this developing situation as well as other changes going on at CBS, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
