Kendall Out as 'Arsenio' Showrunner

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Neal Kendall, executive producer of CBS Television Distribution's The Arsenio Hall Show, has departed the new late-night syndicated talker as of Friday, according to sources.

Eric Pankowsi, CTD's senior vp of programming, will step in as interim executive producer. A new EP will be hired.

CTD had no comment.

Arsenio opened to a strong 1.7 rating/4 share in households in the metered markets after its first week, but that number has been dropping off over each of the four weeks the show has been on the air. At the end of the show's fourth week, those numbers had dropped to a 1.0/2, down 41%. In its second week of national ratings, the show had dropped 18% from its first week to a 0.9 live plus same day household rating, according to Nielsen.

Hall and Octagon Entertainment's John Ferriter remain executive producers on the program. CTD produces The Arsenio Hall Show in partnership with Tribune Broadcasting, and also distributes it. Tribune airs the show on its owned TV stations in late-night time slots.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.