Gayle King signed a new contract with CBS, she said Friday, ending speculation about whether she’d leave her seat on the network’s morning show.
The “CBS Mornings” co-host has agreed to a new contract that will keep her at the Tiffany Network for the foreseeable future, she told listeners on her SiriusXM radio show on Friday.
“I officially signed on the dotted line,” King said. “So I will be with CBS a little bit longer.”
King, who earns an annual salary of $13 million per year, drew interest from potential suitors, including CNN boss Jeff Zucker. Her current contract was due to expire in April. It’s not clear what she’ll make under the new agreement.
Zucker approached King’s representatives to gauge her interest in taking over the 9 p.m. time slot that has been vacant since the firing of Chris Cuomo last month, The Post confirmed.
Zucker hoped King would help CNN make up ground in the cable news ratings war that is being dominated by Fox News, particularly in prime time, according to a report.
Cuomo was booted after it was learned that he helped his brother, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, strategize on countering claims that he sexually harassed a former aide.
Instead, King will remain at her current job co-hosting CBS’s morning show alongside Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson.
King, 67, told her listeners on satellite radio that she was “courted” by other media entities, but ultimately decided to stay put.
“There’s lots of speculation about ‘what Gayle’s gonna do, where is she gonna go, is she being courted?’” King said. “The answer was yes.”
After a stint as a correspondent for ABC’s “Good Morning America,” King joined CBS News in 2012, when she was tapped to co-host “CBS This Morning” alongside Norah O’Donnell and Charlie Rose.
She has scored several prominent interviews, including an exclusive sit-down with singer R. Kelly after he was arrested and charged with various sex crimes in 2019.
King was praised for her poise during the session in which Kelly exploded in rage while denying sexual assault allegations.
Alongside her morning duties in the morning, King will also host “CBS Reports,” a new series that will be available on the network’s CBS News Streaming service.
“CBS Mornings” lags behind its competitors. It averages 2.6 million daily viewers — trailing NBC’s “Today” and second-place “Good Morning America.”