Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson: CBS Fires Two More Hosts as It Cancels 28-Year-Old ‘CBS Saturday Morning’ as Mass Layoffs Continue

CBS News has fired two of its TV hosts following the cancellation of their Saturday morning show. Anchors Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson left the network on Wednesday, according to reports. A source familiar with the situation told Variety that most of the staff from ‘CBS Saturday Morning’ have also been given pink slips.

The program is being discontinued under the direction of new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski, sources told the New York Post. The layoffs are part of a broader restructuring at CBS’s parent company, Paramount, following its acquisition by billionaire David Ellison over the summer. The network’s revamping will continue over several months.

CBS in Revamping Mode

Ellison shared in a note to employees on Wednesday that more than 2,000 positions across the company will be cut. New editor-in-chief Bari Weiss described the day as “enormously difficult” for the network during a morning editorial call, according to Semafor.

Earlier this week, CBS Evening News anchor John Dickerson also announced he will leave the network after 16 years, with his final day set for the end of December.

The streaming versions of both John Dickerson’s show and ‘CBS Mornings’ are also being shut down.

A source told CNN that the layoffs will eliminate around 100 positions across the network.

Among those affected is “CBS Saturday Morning” executive producer Brian Applegate, who has also been let go.

Reason for Scrapping

It’s not yet clear when the final episode of “CBS Saturday Morning” will air, including whether the show will air this coming Saturday. Nor is it known if CBS plans to bring the program back in a new format.

Sources say that CBS’s new leadership — editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski, appointed by parent company Paramount Skydance to revamp the network — deemed the show “too expensive.”

Aired from New York, the program has seen its ratings decline, dropping 10% in total viewers to 1.9 million and 20% among the key 25- to 54-year-old demographic, which now totals 346,000 for the season.

These changes come as Paramount Skydance implements the first phase of major layoffs, cutting roughly 1,000 jobs on Wednesday. The broader plan will ultimately eliminate about 2,000 positions as CEO David Ellison seeks to reduce $2 billion in costs.

CBS News employees have been bracing for major shakeups under Weiss, who sold her centrist news site, The Free Press, to Paramount Skydance for $150 million. Along with Cibrowski, she has been reviewing ways to reshape the network, including cutting costly correspondents and shows, in order to refresh CBS and bring in new talent.