John King, USA: Cancelled by CNN

According to the NY Times, CNN has cancelled their political news program John King, USA. The daily TV show will stay on the air until the end of the month. Starting in July, CNN will expand The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer to fill three hours once again, from 4pm to 7pm.

In an internal memo, CNN executive Ken Jautz wrote that the schedule change was made to improve political coverage for this election this year. Taking on a similar role thtat he had in 2008, King will be the network’s top campaign correspondent for the remainder of this presidential election cycle.

Jautz wrote, “This is John’s seventh presidential campaign, fourth with CNN, and making him available across our programming lineup allows us to better tap his skills and experience, especially on the ground reporting in major battleground states and among critical voting blocs.”

John King, USA started on the cable news channel on March 22, 2010 and took over one of The Situation Room’s three hours. In a 2010 interview, King said, “One of the things they do tell you in this business is having your name associated with a show is important… That is actually a little bit uncomfortable for me.”

CNN reshuffled the schedule in September 2011 and moved King to 6pm to make room for Erin Burnett OutFront at 7pm. For whatever reason, John King, USA just never caught on with a large audience.

What do you think? Did you enjoy watching the program? Will you miss it?