Charles Barkley has taken his career in television very seriously. Although you could see the 60-year-old joking around on the sets of ‘NBA on TNT’, when it comes to gaining viewership, it’s all business for him. One such serious attempt was his collaboration with TV host Gayle King for CNN, titled ‘King Charles’, which made some noise in 2023. However, the ratings of the show were not up to mark, or at least did not satisfy Barkley. The last time he spoke about the show, he was pissed at the viewership. Anyhow, in his latest interview, the Philadelphia 76ers legend has assured a comeback. 

‘King Charles’ is a show that records “authentic” conversations between the two celebrities on interesting stories and cultural themes. Covering topics like these, you could think that Barkley is trying to become a revolutionary in the television industry. But according to him, he is just “trying to do CNN a favor”. At least, he wants to give a better outcome than before. Barkley shared in a quick interview, “I’m just having fun with Gil, that’s it”.

The rating for the late-night show was very low, and many considered it to be a ‘flop’. According to reports, the show ranked the lowest among other prime-time CNN shows over the last ten years. The debut show managed to attract only 501,000 viewers, and that was very concerning for CNN. 

Charles Barkley has a different narrative on the low viewership

Barkley believes there was another reason for the low viewership. On his podcast episode last month, he shared, “I want to tell my team, ‘Man, these Nielsen people are the biggest clowns in the world.‘” Barkley blamed the TV viewership measuring company and accused them of rating his show low. Fox News and MSNBC, who have shows in the same time slot, managed to attract 1.62 million and 2 million views, respectively. 

Anyhow, CNN’s Vice President Ryan Kadro believes this is just the start of it. He shared, “Anybody who knows anything about television knows that these things take time…It’s a young show and we’re really excited about its potential.” 

With powerful hosts like Gayle King and Barkley, there is a very good chance that CNN can make a difference in the upcoming months. The 1993 MVP is locked in and is ready to make a change. What more do you want? 

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Do you think Barkley and King can change the narrative on their show soon?