Simon Cowell: I Brokered a Deal With CNN for Piers Morgan

“American Idol” judge says he helped “America’s Got Talent” pal

Simon Cowell says he helped Piers Morgan  broker a deal with CNN “weeks ago” so the judge on Cowell-produced “America’s Got Talent” could move to the cable network and potentially replace Larry King.

"I knew about this weeks ago,” Cowell told ExtraTV. "[Morgan] was under contract to us on 'America's Got Talent,' so he called me and we helped sort of broker the deal.”

Earlier this week, CNN president Jon Klein denied that any deal with Morgan was in place.

But last month, a report out of the U.K. had Morgan is “on the verge” of a four-year, $8.1 million deal to replace Larry King. At the time, CNN initially did not confirm or deny the report, but later said "rumors that we are close to signing a deal for a Larry King replacement are untrue."

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