CNN is ending its weekly King Charles program helmed by Gayle King and Charles Barkley after just six months.
The show — which aired Wednesdays at 10 PM ET — failed to produce the strong ratings the network hoped would follow the high-profile hosts.
According to metrics from Nielsen, the show debuted in November and was the lowest-rated primetime weekday series debut for CNN in a decade. Unfortunately for the network, viewership fell 20% since the debut, with one late January episode failing to hit 100,000 viewers in the 25-54 demographic.
The program was championed by former CNN CEO Chris Licht, who was fired last year after a magazine profile in The Atlantic called his ability to lead the organization going forward into question. Despite his ouster, CNN continued with the idea of the program led by Gayle King and Charles Barkley in hopes of increased ratings as it struggled in primetime against competitors like Fox News and MSNBC.
The news of the demise of King Charles wasn’t completely unexpected. When it began last fall, CNN shared that the program was expected to run through “early spring.”
In total, the 14-episode run the program featured saw an average audience of 459,000 viewers, with 106,000 resting in the 25-54 demographic, according to the New York Post.
