Two titans of celebrity news are now brewing their own gossip.
Page Six is told that the new iterations of “Access Hollywood” and “E! News,” once fierce competitors, are being forced to share a studio in LA because of a massive restructuring of their parent company, NBCUniversal — with awkward consequences.
“The E! people consider themselves to be the cool, hip crowd” who look down on “Access” as being something of a fusty relic, according to an insider. “For example, you’d never see a [story about far-from-trendy country star] Garth Brooks on E!, but ‘Access’ would lead with a Garth Brooks story.”
Meanwhile, we’re told that “Access” staffers consider themselves to have the more prestigious show — because it airs on broadcast network NBC, rather than cable channel E! — and look down on the E! staff as being small-time.
Plus, “Access” — formerly known as “Access Hollywood,” which was rebranded in the wake of the infamous Billy Bush tape leak — has bigger stars, such as Mario Lopez, as hosts.
And now that they’ve been thrown together, we’re told it’s “tense” in the building as the two settle into a new pecking order.
The company has been integrating its various businesses and sharing some resources in the name of efficiency. And during the corporate shake-up, “E! News” was overhauled. The long-running show launched multiple spinoffs, including “Pop of the Morning” and “In the Room.” All three TV shows were canceled over the summer, reportedly mostly due to the pandemic’s economic havoc.
Other E! entities “Daily Pop” and “Nightly Pop” remain on the air, with much of the “E! News” team contributing — and sharing that LA studio space with “Access.” Meanwhile, “E! News” alums Zuri Hall and Sibley Scoles have been shifted over to “Access” in recent years.
Reps for NBCUniversal didn’t get back to us.