CNN Pulling the Plug on Piers Morgan

Host admits he's failed to connect with Americans
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Suggested by DanPaul
Posted Feb 23, 2014 11:26 PM CST
Updated Feb 24, 2014 2:03 AM CST
CNN Pulling the Plug on Piers Morgan Live
Honoree Piers Morgan poses at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Los Angeles Gala last year.   (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Piers Morgan Live will soon be dead after three years of low ratings, the British host says. Morgan, successor to Larry King in CNN's key 9pm slot, says the show has "taken a bath in the ratings" lately and the network will probably pull the plug as soon as next month. "Look, I am a British guy debating American cultural issues, including guns, which has been very polarizing, and there is no doubt that there are many in the audience who are tired of me banging on about it," Morgan tells the New York Times.

CNN confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that the show is on the way out, though the "date of the final program is still to be determined." So what next for Morgan? "I'd like to do work—interviews with big celebrities and powerful people—that is better suited to what I do well and fit with what [CNN chief Jeff Zucker] is trying to do with the network," he says. CNN, meanwhile, hasn't chosen a new 9pm host yet, according to Mediaite, though sources say new hire Bill Weir will take over at least part of the hour. (More Piers Morgan stories.)

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