The daytime of Anderson Cooper titled “Anderson Live” has already been canceled, the New York Times reported on Monday.
According to reports, the syndicated show of 45-year-old Anderson Cooper — which made its debut last fall and is currently in its second season — will not be returning anymore after next summer. A studio executive who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity cited low ratings as the reason for axing “Anderson Live.”
Meanwhile, in a statement, Anderson Cooper said: “I am very proud of the work that our terrific staff has put into launching and sustaining our show for two seasons, I am grateful to Telepictures for giving me the opportunity, and I am indebted to the audience, who have responded so positively. I look forward to doing more great shows this season, and I’m sorry we won’t be continuing, but I have truly enjoyed it.”
Telepictures also released the following statement about the decision to remove “Anderson Live.”
“We are extremely proud of Anderson and the show that he and the entire production team have produced. While we made significant changes to the format, set and produced it live in its second season, the series will not be coming back for a third season in a marketplace that has become increasingly difficult to break through. We will continue to deliver top-quality shows throughout next summer.”
The move comes after an attempt to shake things up for the second season, which started in September. The show changed its name to “Anderson Live,” debuted a new format starring Anderson Cooper with a different co-host every day, and moved to a different studio. However, that was not enough to jumpstart ratings, especially as “Anderson Live” went up against a number of new daytime shows.
“Anderson” premiered to mixed reviews in September 2011, testing the host’s abilities to showcase his less-serious side on daytime while reporting hard news on CNN. Anderson Cooper weighed in on his show’s struggle to gain traction back in February. “Any show takes time organically to figure out what it is,” Cooper said at the time. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress in doing that and I’m really pleased in where the show is and where the show is headed.”
Anderson Cooper is the primary anchor of the CNN news show “Anderson Cooper 360°.” The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking news stories.