Plug Pulled on Anderson Cooper's Syndicated Show

Warner Brothers studio's syndication arm, Telepictures, announced Monday that it would not renew Anderson Cooper's daytime talk show "Anderson Live" for a third season due to disappointing ratings, the New York Times reports.

"We are extremely proud of Anderson and the show that he and the entire production team have produced," Warner Brothers officials said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. "While we made significant changes to the format, set and produced it live in its second season, the series will not be coming back for a third season in a marketplace that has become increasingly difficult to break through. We will continue to deliver top-quality shows throughout next summer.

Cooper's program will end after the summer of 2013 but he will continue hosting the primetime CNN series "Anderson Cooper 360."

The journalist has yet to comment on the cancelation via his Twitter but released his own statement through representatives.

"I am very proud of the work that our terrific staff has put into launching and sustaining our show for two seasons," Cooper said. "I am also grateful to Telepictures for giving me the opportunity, and indebted to viewers, who have responded so positively. I look forward to doing more great shows this season, and though I'm sorry we won't be continuing, I have truly enjoyed it."

A studio executive, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Times the decision to nix the show had nothing to do with the studio's faith in Cooper but more with the struggling market for daytime talk shows. He said the studio "could have renewed the show but could not create a viable economic business model to move forward." He added that even Katie Couric's anticipated new talk show may not be a huge hit and Jeff Probst and Ricki Lake's shows have not done well.

After the first season of "Anderson Live" received mediocre ratings, the studio and Cooper wanted the second season to include more same-day tapings in order to discuss breaking topics. The Hollywood Reporter points out the second season also featured a "revolving door of guest co-hosts in an attempt to boost interest." But the attempts fell flat with an average 1.452 million viewers, which are below leading daytime shows like "Dr. Phil" and "Live! With Kelly and Michael."

On Monday's episode of "Anderson Live," Cooper covered Hurricane Sandy but did not address the show's cancelation.

In July, after years of speculation and rumors, Cooper announced he was gay in an interview with gay blogger Andrew Sullivan, EDGE reported. He also told media that he has been dating his boyfriend, bar owner Benjamin Maisani, since 2009. But pointed out in August that the U.K. tabloid the Daily Mail published a photo of Masiani kissing another man in New York's Central Park.