Zucker eyeing Curry to spice up primetime

Who knows if any of the rumors surrounding Jeff Zucker’s upcoming reboot of CNN are true, but they sure are interesting.

The latest, the third this week to appear in The New York Post, is especially juicy. Page Six claims that Zucker is pursing Ann Curry, the former “Today” co-host who was ousted over the summer, to take over CNN’s 8 p.m. timeslot.

There’s a certain symmetry to Curry and Zucker’s stories. Both are “Today” veterans and both were forced out of their positions involuntarily; then-NBCUniversal president Zucker was dismissed after Comcast bought the company almost two years ago.

Curry’s background is in hard news, which has always been CNN’s strength, and she’s arguably being under-utilized now on NBC, where she hosts “Dateline” and continues to do international reporting.

Of course, Curry’s addition would mean current 8 p.m. timeslot holder “Anderson Cooper 360” would either be canceled or relocated. Though Page Six claims it would be axed, the more likely scenario would be for “Cooper” to move to 10 p.m., its former timeslot and a more fitting one for a straight news show.

CNN's primetime ratings dipped to a 20-year low earlier this year. Certainly all the attention over Curry's exit at NBC would provide some ratings momentum for any show she stars in.

Neither CNN nor NBC directly refuted the claim. CNN told The Post any speculation over Zucker’s plans right now is “silly,” while NBC News said that Curry remains under contract.
 

Tags: anderson cooper, ann curry, ann curry cnn, ann curry fired, ann curry today, cnn, jeff zucker, nbc, page six, primetime, ratings, Though Page Six, timeslot, today