Piers Morgan’s Prime-Time US Chat Show To Be Canceled By CNN Over Poor Ratings

British journalist Piers Morgan’s prime-time talk show on CNN is being canceled due to low ratings, the news channel said Sunday.

CNN president Jeff Zucker, who is working to boost ratings and lift profits at the news network, reportedly took the decision after the show, which has been running for three years with Morgan, could not bring in good ratings for the network.

“Piers Morgan Live” featured the British journalist interviewing a mix of political and celebrity guests. The show was previously hosted by Larry King, from whom Morgan took over three years ago.

CNN had hopes from Morgan that he would be able to provide the network a larger audience than King had. But, Morgan’s current ratings are lower than what King was averaging in his last year on the show. According to Nielsen Company (NYSE:NLSN), one “Piers Morgan Live” episode last week attracted less than 300,000 viewers.

According to a New York Times interview that was published Sunday, Morgan said that as a British national, he could not connect with American audience.

"It's been a painful period and lately we have taken a bath in the ratings," Morgan told the Times. Morgan also said in the interview that he felt the American audience may have grown weary of his focus on gun-control laws.

“Look, I am a British guy debating American cultural issues, including guns, which has been very polarizing, and there is no doubt that there are many in the audience who are tired of me banging on about it," he said.

Morgan was previously the editor of the UK-based Daily Mirror newspaper but was terminated in 2004 after the paper published fake photos of British troops abusing Iraqi prisoners. He later became the judge of “Britain's Got Talent” before joining CNN.