Paramount Global’s CBS News is planning to debut a third hour of news programming in the mornings, according to a memo sent to employees on Friday.
Currently, CBS News produces two hours of its flagship morning show “CBS Mornings,” which is carried by CBS affiliates and available to stream on the free, ad-supported network CBS News 24/7.
Next month, CBS plans to expand its morning show to a third hour, according to Executive Producer Shawna Thomas, who said the additional hour “is being developed for a few of our owned stations” and the CBS News digital stream.
It was not clear if CBS News intends to offer the morning program to all of its owned and operated stations, as well as its affiliates.
“[It] won’t look or feel exactly like the first two hours,” Thomas said. “Yes, the talent will be a little different and the name will be a little different, but it will still be the smart and engaging content everyone expects from the CBS Mornings family.”
Trade publication Variety said Tony Dokoupil and Adriana Diaz are at the top of the list of possible talent for the third hour of the program, citing an unnamed source who was apparently familiar with the matter.
Over the past few years, broadcast networks have increased their output of news as their corporate owners shifted more scripted programming toward streaming. News is considered one of two genres of TV programming that is “must watch” as it airs, with the other being sports, which is considerably more expensive for a broadcast network to acquire.
CBS rival ABC, owned by Disney, upped the amount of morning news it produces several years ago with the launch of “GMA3: What You Need to Know,” a spin-off of its flagship show “Good Morning America.” NBC has long offered a third hour of “The Today Show” that offers a different format and hosts from its namesake program, and has expanded its news offerings to include “NBC News Daily,” which is streamed on its own free ad-supported channel and offered to affiliates for mid-afternoons or fringe hours.
