More Top Picks Ratings
player ready...Still no co-host for Bryant Gumbel, but CBS has come up with a new moniker for its morning show: “The Early Show.” The name was one of several the network considered for the show, which — with new hosts, studio and attitude — will replace the current “CBS This Morning” on Nov. 1.
The new handle beat out such contenders as “The Morning Show” and “Good Morning Today,” which, of course, is a play on the competition, ABC’s “Good Morning America” and NBC’s “Today.”
“The Early Show” fits in with the names for CBS’ late-night series, “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.” The “Late”-“Early” link should help the network promote the show.
CBS is overhauling its struggling breakfast show for the fall. The key element is Gumbel, the former “Today” host. CBS executives, led by the show’s senior executive producer, Steve Friedman, are now hunting for an on-air team to support Gumbel. So far, only Mark McEwen, the current “This Morning” weatherman and entertainment correspondent, is locked in.
“The Early Show” will emanate live weekdays from Studio 58, a window-fronted facility being constructed in the General Motors Building in New York.
The program’s renovation is CBS’ latest attempt to make itself competitive in the lucrative morning-show arena. The network now runs third behind NBC’s dominant “Today” and ABC’s “GMA.”