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Cnn yanked “Parker Spitzer” off the network’s enormous Sixth Avenue billboard yesterday just hours after reports hit that the co-hosts were headed for a breakup.
The advertisement for the show, which has been at the corner of 47th Street for months, was ditched to make way for one promoting Larry King’s replacement, Piers Morgan.
Eliot Spitzer’s co-host, Kathleen Parker, may soon share the billboard’s fate, sources told The Post.
Network honcho Ken Jautz announced yesterday during a morning meeting that the show, which had previously been taped, would now be aired live, one insider said.
“He ended the conversation saying, ‘That’s all I have right now,’ ” the source said.
A CNN official, who declined to comment on a possible shakeup, said the billboard change was scheduled well in advance to promote the launch of Morgan’s show on Monday.
As The Post reported yesterday, Parker, a Pulitzer prize-winning columnist, could be dumped any day now due to a lack of chemistry with the disgraced former governor and dismal ratings.
“[Parker] is being pushed out,” an insider said. “But she’s putting up a fight because she’s been hung out to dry.”
Piers Morgan’s show kicks off its debut week with big-name guests, including Oprah Winfrey, Howard Stern and George Clooney.
“Next Monday is the launch of Piers Morgan and he has Oprah and that’s going to get a lot of positive attention, so it may be a good time to dump all of the bad news at once,” the insider said.
Although CNN has considered possible replacements for Parker such as former Fox anchor E.D. Hill and National Review writer Will Cain, this week’s switch to live television may be a last ditch effort to keep Parker on board.