CNN’s ‘King Charles’ with Charles Barkley, Gayle King is a ratings ‘disaster’
NY Post
CNN’s gamble to pair loudmouth basketball commentator Charles Barkley with morning news star Gayle King in prime time has been a disaster in the ratings — even losing out to reruns of old “Friends” and “South Park” episodes.
Since its debut in late November, viewership has dropped 20% for “King Charles,” the weekly call-in talk show that airs on the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned news network Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
The first airing of the show generated an audience of 500,000 total viewers and 139,000 in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 age demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research.
But the Jan. 31 broadcast, the most recent airing as the program was off this past week, brought in just 400,000 total viewers and 89,000 in the 25-54 demographic, Nielsen figures show.
The Jan. 31 episode was the first in which “King Charles” failed to cross the 100,000 viewer threshold in the 25-54 demographic.
The show lost in the ratings to repeat episodes of hit sitcoms such as “Friends” and “Modern Family,” which both aired on Warner Bros. Discovery-owned sister station TBS.
