Ex-NFL Star Nate Burleson Set to Join ‘CBS This Morning’ as Co-Anchor
CBS This Morning is looking to shake up its anchor line-up as former NFL wide receiver Nate Burleson is set to join the program.
As first reported by Variety, Burleson, who currently serves as CBS Sports’ football analyst, will move over to the long-running morning news show as a potential successor to some of the current anchors. CBS This Morning is currently headed by Gayle King, Anthony Mason, and Tony Dokoupil, though King, who has taken the reins of the show since the exit of Charlie Rose, has a contract that expires in 2022.
Burleson already has some experience hosting the morning program as he stepped in while Dokoupil was on paternity leave earlier this year. The ex-NFL star was one of several celebrities and guests from non-traditional journalism backgrounds to fill in on the show that usually takes a more serious look at the news than its network counterparts ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today.
While Burleson’s appointment might suggest a change in direction for the show, CBS This Morning executive producer Shawna Thomas has been quick to shoot down that speculation. Speaking to Variety in May, Thomas said, “We have longer, more in-depth pieces than others. I am unwilling to sacrifice that kind of storytelling [because] it is still our differentiator. This isn’t a knock on cooking segments by any means. They have their place. It’s just not necessarily us.”
Burleson began his broadcast career in 2014 following his retirement from the NFL. He started as an analyst on the NFL Network, notably co-hosting Good Morning Football. He went on to join the NFL on CBS team as a studio analyst for The NFL Today for the 2017 season while still serving as co-host of Good Morning Football. In 2021, he won his first Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Studio Analyst.
CBS News has yet to comment on the story; however, Variety reports that executives at ViacomCBS are expected to make an official announcement Wednesday morning.
CBS This Morning, 7 am, Monday – Saturday, Check local listings
