Seacrest In For Larry King

Who needs Bob Costas? Larry King has Ryan Seacrest.

NYP’s Michael Starr reports exclusively that the American Idol star “will host several upcoming editions of Larry King Live — in what looks to be the first step in an overall deal between Seacrest and CNN.”

Seacrest “was given free rein by King to book his own guests, CNN insiders say.” His first appearance comes this Saturday, with guests Ashlee Simpson and her father. “Seacrest and King are longtime friends. King, in fact, gave a speech when Seacrest received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last April,” Starr notes…

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.