The third-place morning show, co-hosted by Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson, will launch a third hour in select markets and on the CBS News 24/7 streaming channel late next month in a fresh bid to compete with its No. 1 and No. 2 rivals, ABC’s “Good Morning America” and NBC’s “Today.”
According to sources, Dokoupil and “CBS Weekends” host Adriana Diaz are expected to become the new co-hosts of the third hour, which will broadcast live from 9 to 10 a.m. ET weekdays from the “CBS Mornings” studio in Times Square.
CBS is launching a third hour of “CBS Mornings.” The show, which will launch next month, will have a new format and name. CBS via Getty Images
Dokoupil is expected to continue his anchoring duties on “CBS Mornings,” said a source with knowledge.
The new show will likely be televised in a handful of CBS markets, including Los Angeles and Chicago — but not in New York, sources said.
In a memo obtained by The Post, Shawna Thomas, executive producer of “CBS Mornings,” told staffers Friday that she would be producing the third hour with her team amid much speculation.
“One of the worst kept secrets at CBS News is true. A few of our colleagues and I have been working on developing a third hour of ‘CBS Mornings’ that we think will hit the airwaves at the end of September. It is being developed for a few of our owned stations and CBS News 24/7,” she wrote.
Thomas said the show “won’t look or feel exactly like the first two hours,” and that the talent and the name will be different, but “it will still be the smart and engaging content everyone expects from the ‘CBS Mornings’ family.”
CBS correspondent and anchor of “CBS Weekends” Adriana Diaz is rumored to be the new co-host of the third hour. Adriana Diaz/Instagram
“It is a smart move and natural evolution of a growing brand,” said a CBS insider. “‘CBS Mornings’ is capitalizing on the momentum and edge on ‘GMA’ that they’ve seen this season to continue growing and building.”
In the second quarter of the year, “CBS Mornings” trailed “GMA” by just 68,000 viewers in the demo. This comes as the show outperformed “GMA” 15 times in the 25-54 demo, Nielsen said.
Overall for the quarter, CBS reeled in 2.1 million total viewers and 426,000 viewers in the demo.
It trailed ABC’s “GMA,” which had 2.8 million total viewers and 494,000 demo viewers.
Norah O’Donnell was ousted from “CBS Evening News” and replaced with co-hosts Jeff Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. AP The changes come as CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon is looking to grow viewership across streaming and TV. CBS via Getty Images
NBC’s “Today” grabbed 2.7 million total viewers and 620,000 viewers in the demo.
The tightening morning show race comes as ABC is searching for a president of its news division, which oversees “GMA,” “World News Tonight” and other marquee shows.
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