Katie Couric’s daytime talk show switching to live format after cancellation

Katie Couric’s talk show may be gone by the time next summer rolls around, but until we get to that point, the show is going to have to go on … sometimes with a live format.

Sources confirm (per The Hollywood Reporter) that for the rest of this season, Couric and company are going to make the move to air the entirety of the show live, mostly as a way to save some money that was being used up by pre-taping and going much longer than the time initially given to Couric and producers to make the show. The reasoning behind this was justified in a way, as she wanted to make sure that there was as much good content as possible for the show; however, this was already one of the most-expensive talk programs out there thanks to the news staffers that it had on board.

From a personal perspective, we actually enjoy the live format more since it gives you more of the impression that anything can happen, and if someone gaffes or says something that is just completely outlandish, there is no going back and getting a do-over. Everything that happens during taping, happens on TV. Anderson Cooper’s talk show was also much-improved when it made the change, but unfortunately, it, like “Katie,” had a run that ended in two years.

What we hope really comes from this now is that networks start to realize that installing talk show after talk show is not the answer. The more interesting angle would be to find a way to create cheaper scripted or reality content to air during the day, especially ones that could hold up well in repeats and cost less to make. There needs to be some alternative to the heavy daytime dramas and often chatty talk shows, and there’s some sort of market for it.