As expected, Gayle King secured the bag after upgrading her contract at “CBS This Morning” with an $11 million-a-year deal surpassing her previous $5 million dollar contract, Page Six has learned.
King likely cemented her position on the show after her March interview with a volatile R. Kelly caught major attention. According to sources, King was looking for big bucks on par with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos’ salary which reportedly is between $15 million and $18 million.
READ MORE: Gayle King is CBS News’ hottest ticket, so what is holding up her contract re-up?
Also, King reportedly deferred to her best friend Oprah Winfrey for advice on how to handle contract negotiations and the media mogul told her “to go for broke.”
“I said, ‘Get what you want. Get exactly what you want, because now’s the time. And if you don’t get what you want, then make the next right move,’ ” the media mogul told The Hollywood Reporter.
A source said a new morning lineup will include King, Anthony Mason and CBS News correspondent Tony Dokoupil.
It was previously reported by The Post that King forced Norah O’Donnell out as part of contract negotiations. However, CBS denies the Post’s claim that King is behind O’Donnell’s exit.
READ MORE: Gayle King opens up about R. Kelly interview, ”I never thought he was going to hurt me”
CBS News president Susan Zirinsky denied the reporting and said that ratings have struggled even since Charlie Rose’s sexual harassment ordeal in 2017.
“This headline is offensive and 100 percent false,” Zirinsky said of The Post’s reporting.
O’Donnell still has a gig at the network and was reportedly offered a “monster anchor” job that encompasses a role as a chief political anchor.
She will assume Jeff Glor’s position as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” according to CBS News and will also be a contributing correspondent for “60 Minutes.”
“There’s no bad blood between Norah and Gayle, in fact they are very close,” a person close to O’Donnell said.
“They are close friends,” this person said. The source even said king attended a birthday party for O’Donnell a few weeks ago.
King, in fact, is set to present O’Donnell with a Matrix Award from New York Women in Communications on Monday.