‘CBS Mornings’ Set for Big Change

Get ready for 50 percent more of CBS Mornings: The morning show is expanding into a third hour.

That third hour of programming is scheduled to launch on select CBS-owned stations in late September and will be simulcast on the streaming platform CBS News 24/7 according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Shawna Thomas, executive producer of CBS Mornings, announced the news in a memo to staffers on Friday, August 16, THR adds.

Thomas said the third hour will have a different title, talent roster, and look and feel than the first two hours but “will still be the smart and engaging content everyone expects from the CBS Mornings family.” Both new hires and existing CBS Mornings staffers will work on the third hour.

“The expansion of CBS Mornings shows a commitment to the brand and the idea that there is a possibility of some growth at a challenging time,” Thomas told colleagues. “So, let’s do this together and make another hour of TV/digital video/content we can be proud of.”

 

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CBS Mornings, which debuted in 2021, is the latest incarnation of CBS’ morning programming, continuing in the tradition of The Early Show and CBS This Morning. Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil, and Nate Burleson anchor the program, and Vladimir Duthiers is a featured host.

With another hour on the daytime docket, CBS Mornings is catching up to its morning-show rivals, NBC’s Today and ABC’s Good Morning America. Today added a third hour (now called 3rd Hour Today) in 2000 and a fourth (now called Today with Hoda & Jenna) in 2007; GMA added an afternoon-set third hour (now called GMA3), in 2018.

Ratings-wise, CBS Mornings still lags behind Today and GMA but has recently started to close the gap, especially among 25-to-54-year-old viewers, THR notes.

CBS Mornings, Weekdays, 7a/6c, CBS