CNN to end Piers Morgan;s primetime show amid low ratings

USPA News - CNN has decided to end Piers Morgan`s primetime show, the American news network announced on Monday, three years after the former "America`s Got Talent" judge was chosen to replace legendary talk show host Larry King. "CNN confirms that Piers Morgan Live is ending," CNN spokeswoman Meghan McPartland said in an email on Monday, confirming news reports that CNN President Jeff Zucker had decided to end "Piers Morgan Live," which registered only 50,000 viewers in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic last week.

McPartland said a date for the final show has not yet been determined. Morgan, a Briton who has been outspoken and critical of American issues such as gun rights, faced a barrage of mocking after Monday`s announcement. "Amusing BBC News coverage of my CNN show ending just now. Thought the reporter was actually going to burst out laughing with glee," Morgan wrote on his Twitter account. In other tweets, Morgan criticized media reports and commentators on Twitter about the show`s exit. "Thanks, chaps - Slate`s st too," Morgan wrote in response to a headline from the online magazine Slate that read: "CNN`s Piers Morgan Live was rubbish. It will not be missed." It was not immediately clear who may replace Morgan`s primetime show, though 80-year-old Larry King, who currently hosts `Larry King Now` for Ora TV, indicated he would be interested. "If [Zucker] talked to the people at Ora TV and they could work it out, I would do it," King was quoted as saying by The Daily Beast website. `Larry King Live` was first aired in 1985 and dominated CNN`s lineup for 25 years, making it the most watched and longest running program with more than one million viewers nightly. Although his ratings eventually began to slip before his exit in December 2010, he is widely recognized as one of the world`s best interviewers. Morgan, who appeared as a judge on "America`s Got Talent" and "Britain`s Got Talent" before winning the U.S. celebrity version of "The Apprentice," was an unpopular and controversial choice from the start, though CNN hoped his ratings would improve overtime. He was interviewed under caution by British police in December, but it is not believed to have played a role in CNN`s decision to end "Piers Morgan Live."