‘Fear’ among the ranks as CBS morning show booted from swanky new studio

‘CBS Mornings’ has until September to leave their fancy Times Square studio.

Just four years ago the network reportedly spent tens of millions of dollars to build the state-of-the-art studio, but now CBS is looking to cut costs any way it can.

“It’s all about saving money,” a network insider told the New York Post. “This is another example of them not competing. It’s going back in time.”

This means that the cast of the “CBS Mornings” which includes show hosts Gayle King, Nate Burleson and Tony Dokoupil, will have to move back to far less swanky digs on 57th street, the Post reported.

The morning show recently suffered an all-time ratings low, landing it in last place, and comes as CBS News President Wendy McMahon seeks to slash costs as part of a corporate mandate to cut $500m from the budget, the Post reported.

According to one insider, the morning show will have to share a smaller studio with “CBS Evening News” after that show also went through a major overhaul after the ousting of Norah O’Donnell.

“The studio is much smaller. There’s no space for couches for when the morning show hosts interview A-listers,” one source told the Post.

“The atmosphere at CBS News is one of fear,” another source reportedly said. “Nobody opens their mouths because they are scared of losing their jobs.”

McMahon’s job is allegedly on the line as she looks for ways to curb costs. Renting the Times Square space is reportedly not off the table.

McMahon was part of the move to Times Square when she was co-president of CBS with Neeraj Khemlani.

“The new studio in the heart of Times Square will bring us a wealth of new opportunities for high-quality production, changing our look without changing our commitment to impactful news in the morning,” Khemlani said at the time.

He was ousted in 2023, while McMahon was promoted to CBS News president and CEO. For now.

McMahon had replaced anchor Norah O’Donnell with lesser-known, co-anchors John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois, a move that has proven to be another ratings disaster.

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