(Image source: Laughing Squid )

BY BRICE SANDER

Larry King and his suspenders are headed back to the small screen. Well, a smaller screen. The veteran talk show host is set to headline a new online TV network, Ora.tv. The Daily Mail has the details.

“King is co-founding the network with [Carlos] Slim and will interview political leaders and A-list celebrities in a similar format to his CNN show...”

Ora – which translates to “now” in Spanish –  seems to be in the early stages, with no set launch date or other shows to announce. But The Hollywood Reporter says this is the right move at the right time.

“Internet TV is becoming a main priority as companies like Hulu, Netflix and Google’s YouTube rush to create original series. Amazon is also expected to jump on the bandwagon...”

Bloomberg says Ora.tv is relying on online advertising and won’t charge a subscription fee — and suggests if anyone can make this concept work, it’s Slim, who owns a stake in The New York Times.

“Slim, the world’s richest person according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, is expanding his media properties... [his] Mexico City-based company has the most cable and satellite subscribers in Latin America, with more than 13 million, mostly in Brazil...”

But the anchors at KNTV worry about King’s age, asking, who’s the target audience here?

ANCHOR 1: “Now, when I think of hipsters watching a new Internet channel, I’m not sure I think of Larry King as being the one that they’re gonna come see.”
ANCHOR 2: “Yeah, with all due respect to Mr. King and the suspenders, I agree with you Scott.”
ANCHOR 3: “I’m not gonna touch that one.”

King – who has a deal with CNN to produce a series of specials – says he felt “restless” after leaving his daily show, and wanted to return to covering the big stories.