And you thought Nate Burleson replacing Anthony Mason would be the only new part of “CBS This Morning” this fall.
On Tuesday, CBS News unveiled an overall rebranding of its flagship morning program, which after Labor Day will be known as “CBS Mornings.” The “reimagined morning news program,” in the network’s words, comes complete with a sleek, new studio in midtown Manhattan’s Times Square with “touch-screen technology, augmented reality, monitors throughout the room and LED walls that bring it all to life.”
The studio sits on the second floor of ViacomCBS’ world headquarters where MTV’s “TRL” once drew crowds of screaming teenagers. Starting next week, hosts Burleson, Gayle King and Tony Dokoupil will have 3,000 square feet to play with. And play they will. But also do serious news — depending on the hour.
Beyond the new look, “CBS Mornings” aims to “leave viewers more informed, more prepared and more uplifted as they start their day,” according to a press release announcing the rebrand.
How, exactly, will “CBS Mornings” accomplish this? According to the network, the Monday-Friday morning show, plans to take a page of out “CBS Sunday Morning’s” playbook. (And others out of “Good Morning America’s” and the “Today” show’s.) For “CBS Mornings,” that means more feature-length stories, which in TV news terms, amounts to roughly 15 minutes. It’s kind of like “60 Minutes” for the workday mornings — or at least, CBS News hopes so.
The network is hoping to capitalize on the success of “CBS Sunday Morning,” which has dominated its time slot competition for the past 18 years — that’s a heck of a lot better than perennial third place (of three) show “CBS This Morning” has fared. Plus, “60 Minutes” is the biggest show on Sunday nights this side of NFL football. So from a TV ratings standpoint, a daily version of either of those would be a huge upgrade.
“All CBS News morning broadcasts will now be part of the same family, with a focus on original reporting and exquisite storytelling, connected by the sound of the iconic trumpet music and an ethos of optimism that carries all the way through to the sunshine logo itself,” Neeraj Khemlani, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations, said on Tuesday. “We’re adding a little bit of ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ – every morning – on ‘CBS Mornings.’”
“CBS Mornings” won’t abandon breaking news, which will kick off the show in the 7 a.m. hour. The feature reporting and live interviews, “covering topics from news, sports, climate, and technology to race, health, parenting and personal finance,” will wait until 8 a.m. ET That’s the hour Mason will return with some arts and culture reporting. Vlad Duthiers will also regularly appear with his “What to Watch” segment.
But with a focus on longer news pieces, it’s unclear why the move comes as the show replaces a serious news anchor in Anthony Mason with a former NFL wide receiver like Nate Burleson.
Tapping Burleson suggests a bid to mimic the frivolity of “Good Morning America,” whose co-hosts include former NFL player Michael Strahan. Adding an interactive and highly visible Times Square studio also suggests another belated attempt to challenge “GMA” and “Today” — which also boast glass-fronted studios in touristy blocks of Manhattan. (“CBS This Morning” had the glass and the ground floor, but not as many year-round tourists at 57th St.)
Even with the added lightness, it doesn’t sound like Gayle, Tony and Nate will be out among the masses and their poster boards, however, a person with knowledge of the plans told TheWrap. It’s also unclear what those expected exterior crowds plan to do when the show airs those long feature pieces.
All of this is planned to happen within fewer hours than “Good Morning America” (the third hour airs at 1 p.m. ET) or “Today” (still four hours) — the shows that dominate broadcast TV each morning in total viewers (“GMA”) and among adults 25-54, the key demo for news programming (“Today”). In total viewers, “GMA” has a 20% lead over third-place “CBS This Morning.” In the key demo, leader the “Today” show is on top of “CBS This Morning” by twice that margin.
Best of luck to “CBS Mornings.” Executive producer Shawna Thomas sounds pretty pumped for the changes.
“The two hours the ‘CBS Mornings’ team has every weekday is a gift. We get the chance to inform the audience with the most up-to-date information a person needs to start their day, as well as tell deeper stories that someone would want to watch at 7:00 AM or 7:00 PM,” she said on Tuesday. “’CBS Mornings’ won’t shy away from complicated topics or uplifting moments. Come September, the energy of our new anchor team will bring all of this together to help viewers understand and engage with their world.”
