'CBS This Morning' Executive Producer EXITS

Ray Kadro

CBS announced Friday that executive producer Ryan Kadro will be leaving "CBS This Morning" and the network. He's been with the show since its 2012 launch and been running it since his predecessor, Chris Licht, left to take over Stephen Colbert's "Late Show" three years ago

CBS said Kadro's exit had nothing to do with the network's settlement this week of a lawsuit filed by three women concerning Rose's behavior that had faulted management, including Kadro, for not acting to stop him.

No replacement has been named, accord to the AP.

Kadro, in a note to his staff, said he had been discussing his future with CBS News President David Rhodes since September. His contract expires at the end of the year.

"Through our discussions, I couldn't shake the feeling in my gut that I need a new challenge, and a serious nap," Kadro wrote. "It's the natural course of things."

"CBS This Morning" had generated significant momentum in the lucrative morning marketplace earlier in the decade with a newsier approach led by the on-air anchor team of Rose, Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell. While it remained third in the ratings to ABC's "Good Morning America" and NBC's "Today" show, its audience grew and it was competitive with its rivals for the first time in a long time.

After Rose's departure, that momentum halted. All of the network morning news shows are losing audience, but none as quickly as CBS. The show has been averaging just under 3.2 million viewers this year, compared to 3.6 million before Rose's exit in November 2017, the Nielsen company said.