Brian Stelter has returned to CNN, where he is chief media analyst and lead author of the Reliable Sources newsletter, which he founded in 2015. Stelter joined CNN in late 2013 as senior media correspondent after a 6½-year run as media reporter at The New York Times. He hosted Reliable Sources on Sunday mornings, the show focusing on how the media covers the major stories, and departed CNN after the program was canceled in 2022.

Oliver Darcy was the lead author on the Reliable Sources newsletter and left CNN in August. 

Stelter had launched TVNewser in 2004 as a student at Towson University. He has been a Walter Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard University since CNN let him go. 

Stelter said the Reliable Sources newsletter relaunches Monday, September 9. 

“This is not going to be a Back to the Future remake,” he said in the newsletter September 3 . “The media industry has matured, CNN has evolved, and I have changed a lot since I signed off two years ago. I loved my old life as the anchor of a Sunday-morning show but, to borrow some lingo from my video-game blogger days, I finished that level of the game. Time for new levels, new challenges.”

Stelter said his new role will see him on air, developing digital content and helming the newsletter. “It will be different, because I am different,” he said. 

Broadcast networks broken into regular programming Sunday afternoon to cover the news that President Joe Biden has decided to drop out of the race for re-election.

A few minutes after 2 p.m. ET, NBC News senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson reported on the news during a special report. She was joined during the report by Kristen Welker, Kelly O'Donnell, Yamiche Alcindor and Allie Raffa.

O’Donnell talked about how the pressure had been mounting on Biden.

“To be the president running for reelection, you are, in fact, the standard bearer of that party — and the bough had been breaking for days, crack by crack, now with roughly 40 elected members of Congress and the Democratic Party urging him to step aside,” she said.

Jen Psaki, who had been President Biden's press secretary, broke the news on MSNBC at 1:52 p.m.

“This is a significant breaking news development with the president announcing he is stepping back from the race," Psaki said. “There was very little indication from people close to him and many people in the campaign that this was what was about to happen, as much as there were reports of Democrats calling on him to do that.”

MSNBC’s coverage was joined by Rachel Maddow and Joe Scarborough.

Fox News Channel said it would present continuous coverage of Biden’s decision on Sunday. Fox's chief Washington Correspondent Mike Emanuel broad the news on air and was joined by Bret Baier, Brit Hume, Martha MacCallum, Bill Hemmer and Shannon Bream.

“This is a tectonic shift in politics, think about where we have been and in such a fast time to have changed now this nominee, stepping down," Baier said on Fox News. "It was only three weeks ago that there was that debate and at which point President Biden walked out and in the first few minutes, the world kind of gasped that was on stage after all the preparation that he did. The fallout from that I  don’t think ever really recovered and his effort to do interviews afterwards did not stop the bleeding as far as his political problems.“

Cable news rival CNN was airing a rerun of Fareed Zakaria GPS when the news broke, and at 1:46 p.m. and it took about 10 minutes to report the breaking news, according to the Daily Beast.

The CNN-produced debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump attracted 47.9 million total viewers on television, according to Nielsen fast national data provided by the audience measurement company.

There were also more than 30 million live starts of the debate on CNN’s digital platforms and on YouTube.

CNN let other outlets show the debate. CNN’s networks drew 9.04 million viewers. Including CNN.com and CNN Max, CNN had 11.4 million viewers tune in.

Fox News Channel  averaged  8.8 million viewers during the debate, with 3.5 million watching on Fox Broadcast Network and 372,000 on Fox Business Network.

The debate was watched on ABC by watched by 8.7 million viewers..

NBC drew 5.2 million viewers and an other 3.9 million on MSNBC, while 4.8 million watched on CBS.

The debate was the most watched nonsports program of the year to date among both people aged 2 and up and people in the 25 to 54 demographic.

The debate had commercial breaks. Among adults 25-54 12.6 million watched. Among younger adults, 4.92 million tuned in.

CNN called the debate the highest-rated program in its history and the largest livestreamed event in its history, with 2.3 million concurrent live views at 9:47 pm ET.

It was also the biggest day for CNN on Max, CNN said.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will meet Thursday at 9 p.m. ET in the first debate of the 2024 presidential general-election cycle, with a number of cable networks, broadcast networks and streamers carrying a simulcast of CNN’s live presentation.

CNN will offer the debate, the earliest schedule presidential debate in U.S. history, live on its main U.S. channel as well as CNN International and CNN en Español, and will stream it on CNN.com and CNN Max. CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate the debate from Atlanta.

CNN is making a feed of the debate available for other networks to simulcast, with the caveat that the CNN logo remain on-screen at all times. Broadcasters ABC, NBC, Fox, Telemundo, PBS and CBS will air the simulcast, along with cable networks Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, MSNBC, C-SPAN, NewsNation, Scripps News and Newsmax, according to published reports.

The debate will also be available on streaming platforms including Peacock, Fox Nation, Hulu and theGrio. 

A second presidential debate is set for September 10 on ABC. 

Live sports programming continues to deliver huge ratings for TNT and ESPN as both networks dominated last week’s primetime cable ratings chart.

TNT averaged 3.2 million viewers for the week of May 13-19 to top all cable networks for the fourth straight week, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. The network was bolstered by its May 19 coverage of the Minnesota Timberwolves-Denver Nuggets Game 7 NBA Western Conference semifinals telecast, which averaged 7.5 million viewers.

NBA and NHL playoffs-fueled ESPN finished second for the week with 2.2 million viewers, followed by Fox News' 1.9 million viewers and MSNBC’s 1.1 million watchers.

HGTV pulled into fifth place with 647,000 viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel (637,000 viewers), INSP (606,000), TBS (525,000), USA Network (522,000) and History (512,000).

Fox News posted its 19th straight win on the total day chart with 1.2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (831,000), TNT (797,000), ESPN (771,000) and CNN (471,000), according to Nielsen. 

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to debates, set for June 27 on CNN and September 10 on ABC. 

CNN Worldwide chairman and CEO Mark Thompson shared that both Biden and Trump had agreed to his network’s event at the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront presentation in New York May 16. That debate will happen in Atlanta. 

CNN reported that Dana Bash, anchor and CNN chief political correspondent, and Jake Tapper, anchor and chief Washington correspondent, will moderate its debate, and David Muir, anchor of World News Tonight, and Linsey Davis, anchor of World News Tonight Sunday, will do so for the ABC News debate.

The Commission on Presidential Debates is not hosting either debate, as it traditionally does. The commission had scheduled debates for September 16, October 1 and October 9. The Biden and Trump camps are dealing directly with the networks.  

The Biden camp wants the debates to happen earlier, The New York Times reported, and wants them conducted in a TV studio with no audience and with microphones that turn off when a speaker’s time limit elapses. 

Trump said on Truth Social he agreed to a Fox News debate October 2, but the Biden camp said the president will take part only in the CNN and ABC News debates. 

ABC News said it will make the September 10 debate available to simulcast on other networks. 

New CNN CEO Mark Thompson spelled out his plan for the struggling news network during parent company Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront presentation Wednesday.

“First we’re going to double down on news,“ Thompson told the advertisers in the audience. “In a world full of noisy opinions, CNN should stand for the facts, the judgment, the expertise. And yes for being first when the really big stories happen.”

In an election year, CNN will obviously be covering politics. But Thompson said that news on CNN will be about more than politics, an often polarizing topic that many advertisers want no part of.

 Also Read: Continuing Coverage of the 2024 Upfronts

“Business and tech are news. Climate and weather are news, big news in fact. Health, wellness and living longer are news. Sports is news. Entertainment and popular culture are news,” he said.

“Expect to see us build new branded verticals in all these areas on TV, our apps and across our other platforms with new sponsorship opportunities delivered consistently and regularly both for our audiences and also for our advertising partners,” Thompson said.

He noted that when Ted Turner created CNN, cable TV was the way to get news to the public on a 24-hour basis. Now, CNN has to deliver reliable news wherever and whenever people need it. That includes TV, plus digital, plus audio.

As an example, Thompson pointed to CNN’s 5 Things franchise. It has spawned a newsletter, three podcasts and a daily streaming show on Max.

“Wherever you are, whatever device you have in hand, we want 5 Things to be an essential tool telling you what’s going on right now,” Thompson said.

Similarly, Thompson said CNN is taking the “magic wall” that chief national correspondent John King uses to analyze election trends and putting it in an app that will enable users to explore election results at the local, state and national levels.

CNN also wants to expand the video it distributes via social media to broaden its demographics and offer advertisers a chance to reach audiences “where they are throughout the day,” Thompson said.

CNN will be investing in audio as well, with additional podcasts.

“On our main domestic cable channel, you can expect to see a lot more than straight news,” Thompson said.

“This year on Saturdays, we're experimenting with topical entertainment and comedy,” he said. CNN is already running repeats of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher on Saturdays.  

That show soon will be joined by a U.S. edition of the U.K. satiric program Have I Got News for You. 

“Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's finally time for some proper British television,” he said.

CNN originals will also be making a comeback. CNN announced that it was reviving its “Searching for” franchise, starting with Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain.

The news network will also aim to maximize its reach in Spanish with CNN en Español.

Thompson told advertisers the story of how he came to join Warner Bros. Discovery and CNN.

“I was relaxing on holiday last summer when the call came through. I fished out my phone and saw the name David Zaslav,” the former BBC and The New York Times exec said. Zaslav is CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.

“I’d certainly heard of him. And I swear to God in the second or so it took to get the phone to my ear, I pretty much figured it out,“ he said. “Not just that this was likely to be a call about CNN, but it was one I should take very seriously indeed.”

Added Thompson: “To me, it’s obvious. The world needs the truth now more than ever. It needs honest reporting. It needs journalists it knows and trusts. And no news brand on Earth is better placed to deliver all of those things than CNN.”

Thompson told the upfront audience that he had breaking news. He’d invited President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to debate in Atlanta on June 27, and during the event, both camps had accepted. 

The lesson, he said: “When people have something important to say, they say it on CNN. I hope all of you will do the same.”

CNN and OWN will air a documentary feature on the life and career of R&B superstar Luther Vandross in 2025, the networks said Wednesday at the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront in New York. 

Also Read: Continuing Coverage of the 2024 Upfronts

The Dawn Porter-produced film, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, explores Vandross’s career as he charted his own course in becoming one of the most decorated and influential artists of all time, according to the networks. The project will feature archival footage of Vandross, who died in 2005, along with interviews with Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick, Valerie Simpson and Roberta Flack. 

Never Too Much will explore the Grammy award-winning artist’s career, as well as his “unrequited love life, health struggles, and lifelong battle to earn the respect his music deserved,” said CNN.

Never Too Much is executive produced by Porter, Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Tom Mackay, Richard Story, Jon Platt, Brian Monaco and Phil Thornton. 

CNN Washington bureau chief Sam Feist will become the next CEO of C-SPAN, the nonprofit public-affairs network said Tuesday.

Co-CEOs Rob Kennedy and Susan Swain said in March they planned to retire, having held the network reins since 2012. They had succeeded founding CEO Brian Lamb, who still serves on the C-SPAN board. Kennedy is leaving on May 17; Swain will be sole CEO until Feist takes over during the summer. Feist is staying at CNN, where is a senior VP, through June to help with the transition there.

Lamb, Kennedy, Swain and C-SPAN chairman Pat Esser had formed a search committee to find the next CEO. Ann Carlsen of Carlsen Resources led the search, vetting nearly 100 candidates for the job, C-SPAN said. 

Esser, the retired Cox Communications CEO, in a release called Feist "an outstanding leader who is trusted and respected by both sides of the aisle and who has a deep respect for C-SPAN's nonpartisan mission." 

Feist in the release said: “Our democracy needs C-SPAN now more than ever. I look forward to working with C-SPAN’s extraordinary and dedicated team to expand the network’s reach and meet new audiences where they are.”

“C-SPAN is an American treasure and I could not be more excited to lead this essential institution,” Feist said.

C-SPAN described Feist as an editorial leader and a digital and television innovator, with deep relationships throughout the Washington media and politics community. Feist heads CNN’s largest newsgathering operation and leads the digital and editorial transformation of CNN en Español, CNN’s Spanish-language network. 

He graduated from Vanderbilt University and later earned a law degree from Georgetown University. He is an active member of the D.C. Bar, C-SPAN said. 

C-SPAN said that, along with executive management experience in media, the priorities for the next CEO were preserving C-SPAN’s nonpartisan mission while also finding new distribution and funding opportunities as linear cable distribution declines. 

Kennedy and Swain in the release said: “Out of a small group of excellent finalists, Sam Feist stood out for his deep respect for C-SPAN, his leadership skills, his knowledge of Washington, and his digital transformation bona fides. We are confident that we are leaving C-SPAN in good hands.”  

C-SPAN, founded by the cable industry in 1979, operates three TV networks available in 50 million cable and satellite households, an FM radio station in Washington, D.C., and numerous digital offerings. Its archives contain nearly 300,000 hours of contemporary public affairs programming, per the network. 

CNN has dunked its weekly, primetime talk show King Charles after a five-month run.

The series, which featured CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King and NBA Hall of Famer/Inside The NBA co-host Charles Barkley discussing topical issues, launched in November 2023 but failed to generate strong ratings, according to published reports.

The series, the brainchild of former CNN CEO Chris Licht, was expected to help build CNN’s primetime ratings, but drew lackluster ratings from the start. In December,  Barkley criticized Nielsen for not accurately reporting all potential viewership for the show. 

Overall, the series averaged 459,000 viewers through its run, according to Nielsen numbers reported by the New York Post.

The move comes during a particularly busy time for Barkley and his Inside The NBA show as the NBA playoffs launch this week.

As you may have heard, there’s a solar eclipse going on Monday, April 8, and the news networks are all over the uncommon event. The so-called path of totality will run from northern Mexico, through Texas and across the Midwest, including Indianapolis and Cleveland, then on to Maine. The last total solar eclipse in the U.S. happened in 2017, and the next one, after April 8, is scheduled for 2044. 

The Weather Channel has Stephanie Abrams kicking things off that day at 6 a.m., reporting from Fredericksburg, Texas on America’s Morning Headquarters. Heather Zons hosts the interactive live chat called Follow the Shadow. 

Weather Channel will have meteorologists up and down the swath of the country experiencing the total eclipse, including Alex Wilson in Dallas, Jim Cantore in Indianapolis and Felicia Combs in Russellville, Arkansas. 

ABC News and Nat Geo will team up on the two-hour live special Eclipse Across America, on at 2 p.m. Monday on a range of networks, including ABC, Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, Disney Plus and Hulu. David Muir and Linsey Davis anchor, with assists from Nat Geo talent Mariana van Zeller, Cristina Mittermeier and Babak Tafreshi, among others. Reports come from Del Rio, Texas, Carbondale, Illinois and Indianapolis, along with other sites.

On CBS, it’s Total Eclipse of the Heartland, on CBS and CBS News Streaming April 8 from 2 to 3:30 ET. CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell and CBS Mornings co-host Tony Dokoupil anchor from Indianapolis. Janet Shamlian will be in Kerrville, Texas, Omar Villafranca in Dallas and Dave Malkoff in Cleveland, along with other correspondents in other locales.  

The CBS stations are in on it too, including KYW Philadelphia chief meteorologist Bill Kelly on the set in Philly, WCBS New York anchor Kristine Johnson in Niagara Falls and WBZ Boston reporter Mike Sullivan in Burlington. 

Over at NBC, Lester Holt anchors Total Eclipse 2024 starting at 2 p.m. from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He’ll anchor NBC Nightly News that evening from Indianapolis too. 

Among the Today crew, Al Roker will be in Dallas, and Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin and other talent at the Museum of Natural History in New York. Correspondents will be up and down the eclipse path, including Jesse Kirsch in Cleveland, Kate Snow in Houlton, Maine and Maura Barrett in Bloomington, Indiana.

Correspondent Katy Tur anchors coverage of the eclipse beginning at 2 p.m. on MSNBC. 

NBC’s owned stations will cover the event on their FAST channels starting at noon ET. KXAS-KXTX Dallas-Fort Worth produces the live-streaming special. 

Fox Weather, for its part, offers America’s Total Eclipse that day, with meteorologists and correspondents in a bunch of cities, including Stephen Morgan in Dallas, Kendall Smith in Indianapolis and Janice Dean in Little Rock. 

CNN’s coverage will include Brianna Keilar and Boris Sanchez on CNN News Central from 1-4 p.m. ET, and CNN en Español anchor Rey Rodriguez reporting from Mazatlán, Mexico. Meteorologists Chad Myers, Allison Chinchar and Elisa Raffa will provide eclipse context from the studio. 

NewsNation has Brian Entin, senior national correspondent, anchoring with NewsNation Now talent Nichole Berlie and Connell McShane from Chicago at 1 to 4:30 p.m. ET. Correspondent Brooke Shafer will report from the Indianapolis Speedway and Caitlyn Becker from Niagara Falls, among other correspondents in various locales. 

Fox News easily outperformed its cable news rivals on the ratings front during the first quarter of 2024, posting its highest-rated quarter ratings since the first quarter of 2023.

Fox News averaged 2 million viewers in primetime during the period of January 1 to March 31, topping second-place MSNBC’s 1.2 million viewers and CNN’s 594,000 watchers, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. Among viewers 25-54, Fox News drew 233,000 viewers compared to the 121,000 viewers drawn by both CNN and MSNBC.

Promo: Come to Future's The Business of TV News Event in D.C. on May 2

On a total day basis, Fox News drew 1.2 million total viewers and 156,000 in the 25-54 demo, with MSNBC averaging 814,000 viewers (82,000 in 25-54) and CNN garnering 467,000 viewers (85,000 in 25-54).

Overall, Fox News delivered 95 of the top 100 cable news telecasts during the quarter, with its daily afternoon show, The Five, leading the way, according to Nielsen.

Fox News was also the most-watched cable news network in March, averaging 2.1 million viewers in primetime, compared to MSNBC's 1.3 million viewers and CNN's 601,000 viewers, according to Nielsen. 

Fox News Channel’s coverage of the South Carolina Primary helped the news network complete a sweep of the primetime and total day charts for the month of February.

Fox News averaged 2.1 million viewers in primetime for the week of February 19-25 for its sixth straight win, topping second place TNT, which averaged 1.6 million viewers for the week, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. 

Fox News was paced by its February 24 South Carolina Primary coverage, along with its February 20 Town Hall event featuring Laura Ingraham and former President Trump, which averaged 3.3 million viewers.  

MSNBC finished third for the week with 1.4 million viewers, followed by ESPN with 861,000 viewers, and HGTV, which pulled in 791,000 viewers. 

TBS was sixth with 735,000 viewers, followed by History (718,000 viewers), CNN (677,000), Hallmark Channel (613,000) and INSP (611,000).

Fox News held on to first place on the total day chart with 1.3 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (949,000 viewers), CNN (549,000), ESPN (460,000) and TNT (434,000), said Nielsen. 

Fox News was the most-watched cable network in primetime and total day for the first full week of February as it continues to pile up ratings victories in 2024. 

The cable news network averaged 2 million viewers for the week of February 5-11 for its fourth straight win on the chart, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. MSNBC was a distant second with 1.3 million viewers, followed by HGTV’s 749,000 viewers, History’s 731,000 viewers, and ESPN’s 670,000 watchers.

TBS finished sixth with 645,000 viewers, followed by INSP (626,000), TNT (596,000), Hallmark Channel (571,000) and USA Network (569,000). 

On a total day basis, Fox News averaged 1.3 million viewers for the week, blowing away competition from MSNBC (846,000 viewers), CNN (462,000), ESPN (455,000), and HGTV (433,000), reported Nielsen. 

Fox News continued its strong 2023 ratings run, finishing at the top of both the primetime and total day charts for third straight week.

Fox News averaged 2 million viewers in primetime for the week of January 29 to February 4, besting MSNBC’s 1.2 million viewers and ESPN’s 1 million watchers, according to Nielsen numbers provided by Fox News. The cable news network has won the primetime crown in three of the first five weeks of 2024.

HGTV finished fourth with 853,000 viewers followed by History with 765,000. TBS was sixth with 754,000, followed by Hallmark Channel (681,000), Discovery Channel (642,000), USA Network (622,000) and INSP (617,000).

On a total day basis, Fox News averaged 1.3 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (794,000 viewers), ESPN (547,000), HGTV (445,000) and CNN (434,000), said Nielsen. 

CNN is giving its morning lineup an overhaul. CNN This Morning, currently on 6-9 a.m., will be on 5-7 a.m. Kasie Hunt, anchor of Early Start at 5 a.m., will anchor CNN This Morning. 

CNN News Central moves to the 7-10 a.m. weekday slot from its current 9 a.m.-12 p.m. one. John Berman, Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner host CNN News Central. 

Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly currently host CNN This Morning. They are in discussions with CNN leadership about new roles. 

Mattingly said on X, “Learned a lot. Slept significantly less. Think the absolute world of our great and wonderfully talented team. Truly grateful for @PoppyHarlowCNN. Only regret is I couldn’t deliver a different outcome for them. More later, but meantime see y’all in bright & early in the AM.”

Jim Acosta takes on the 10 a.m. weekdays slot with CNN Newsroom. He has been hosting a weekend program. The Bulletin with Pamela Brown will take on the 11 a.m. weekday slot in the spring. 

Media reports described the a.m. move as CNN shifting from a chatty morning show to one featuring more straight news, and said the changes will take place by the end of the month. 

CNN This Morning launched in fall 2022, when Chris Licht was CNN chief. Harlow hosted with Don Lemon and Kaitlan Collins. Lemon was dismissed last year and Collins anchors the 9 p.m. hour. 

The new CNN This Morning will be produced in Atlanta, reported the Wall Street Journal. It has been produced in New York. 

Mark Thompson took over as chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide last year, after Licht was let go. 

Alex MacCallum is returning to CNN as worldwide executive VP of digital products and services.

MacCallum left CNN in 2022 after serving as global head of product and general manager of CNN Plus, the short-lived streaming service that was axed as then-CNN parent WarnerMedia was acquired by Discovery.

Most recently MacCallum was chief revenue officer for The Washington Post.

In her new role, she will oversee and spearhead CNN’s suite of digital products.

Before joining CNN originally, MacCallum was head of new products and ventures for The New York Times, where new CNN CEO Mark Thompson was CEO.

Athan Stephanopoulos, who had been CNN’s chief digital officer, left the company earlier this month.

After his new CNN show with Gayle King, King Charles, debuted to lackluster numbers, Charles Barkley blasted Nielsen as “clowns” who really don’t know who is watching what on TV.

Nielsen said that the first episode of King Charles averaged 501,000 viewers, putting it behind Fox News Channel and MSNBC.

“An article came out that our ratings weren’t great … but I want to tell my team, man, these Nielsen people are the biggest clowns in the world. Name me one person you know with a Nielsen box,” Barkley said on The Steam Room, a podcast he hosts with Inside the NBA co-star Ernie Johnson.

“These Nielsen people try to say our ratings weren’t great, but we won a certain demographic. Hey man, to my team, f---- them,” Barkley ranted. “Don’t you worry about what people tell you about your ratings? Nobody knows what people are watching. They don’t! You got a group of people who get to dictate who gets hired and fired, and that’s the part that sucks about the Nielsen ratings.”

Nielsen did not return a call seeking comment.

VideoAmp, one of Nielsen’s measurement rivals, painted a somewhat brighter picture of King Charles viewership.

According to VideoAmp, the show premiere was seen by 562,000 viewers, 12% more than Nielsen estimated. That puts it in the top 10 in its timeslot.

King Charles was the No. 1 show in prime time among Black audiences, VideoAmp said, and in the top 5 across all linear television among Black viewers in its time slot. 

It was also CNN’s second highest-rated show for the week, behind Anderson Cooper 360. 

Fox News’ Ron DeSantis-Gavin Newsom political debate helped the news network retake the top spot on both the primetime and total day charts.

Fox News averaged 1.9 million viewers during the week of November 27 to December 3, surpassing last week’s chart leader ESPN’s 1.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. The news network's November 30 DeSantis vs. Newsom: The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate special averaged 5.4 million viewers across its live airing and repeat telecast to pace its ratings performance.

Hallmark Channel finished in third place with 1.2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC’s 1.1 million viewers and History’s 714,000 watchers. HGTV was sixth with 765,000 viewers followed by USA Network (671,000 viewers), Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (644,000), TNT (595,000) and Discovery Channel (569,000.)

On a total day basis, Fox News topped all networks for the 10th time in the last 11 weeks with 1.1 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (772,000), ESPN (709,000), Hallmark Channel (702,000) and CNN (448,000), according to Nielsen.  

 Major League Baseball’s League Championship Series proved to be a major hit for TBS and FS1 as both networks finished at the top of last week’s primetime charts.

TBS averaged 2.9 million viewers for the week of October 16 to October 22 to top all cable networks, followed by FS1, which averaged 2.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen numbers provided by Fox News. 

Both networks were bolstered by their respective coverage of baseball's playoffs games. TBS was led by its October 20 coverage of the Philadelphia Phillies-Arizona Diamondbacks National League Championship series, which drew 5.39 million viewers, while FS1’s October 22 Texas Rangers-Houston Astros American League Championship telecast drew 4.76 million viewers.

Also: MLB Hopes Diamondbacks-Phillies Game 7 Will Spark World Series Ratings Rally

Fox News finished third with 2 million viewers, followed by ESPN with 1.8 million viewers and MSNBC with 1.2 million watchers. Hallmark Channel was sixth with 917,000 viewers, followed by HGTV (814,000 viewers), CNN (687,000), INSP (601,000) and TLC (565,000). 

Fox News finished first on the total day chart for the fifth straight week, followed by MSNBC (918,000 viewers), TBS (732,000), ESPN (666,000) and CNN (631,000).

Back in 1980, when Ted Turner first launched CNN, he was fulfilling the classic unmet consumer need.

Turner wisely bet on the fact that there were millions of news junkies out there who wanted more than the currently available diet of morning newspapers, local news radio and network and local evening news programs were providing.

That was 43 years ago.

Today, CNN’s newly appointed CEO, Mark Thompson, has a very different challenge.

To begin with, there really isn’t any unmet consumer need that a 24-hour TV news channel can fulfill.

News is available in real time on numerous websites, social media platforms, podcasts and blogs. That includes everything from breaking stories to deep analysis, all of it available as video, audio and/or text.

So where does CNN and its sibling, the new CNN Max, fit into this new ecosystem?

It All Starts With The Website

Thompson performed a near-miraculous turnaround with the New York Times. But all of his enhancements, from games to podcasts to the oft-pilloried cooking section, sprang from the same place: the nytimes.com website and its accompanying mobile apps.

CNN’s current website is a different story. It feels very much like what I will assume it was originally designed to be, which is a marketing tool for the network.

This means that the goal of the website is not to keep viewers engaged, but rather, to get them to tune in to the TV network and subscribe to a cable provider that carries CNN if they have not already done so.

There’s so much missed opportunity there.

CNN has the opportunity to make their website competitive with the Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

That means treating the website more as a news site and less as a marketing tool, so that viewers can easily scan and read the day’s top stories along with insight and expose pieces, and then dig deeper with video should they so desire.

Given the massive layoffs in the newspaper industry, it should not be hard to find the right talent pool. CNN can also draw on the sizable number of well-known print journalists like the Times' Maggie Haberman, who hold the title of “special correspondent” at the network. 

The fact that these journalists often appear on CNN and other cable news networks plays a key role in their continued prominence — the journalists share their clips on social media and reference them in articles, giving CNN what the industry calls “earned media” and everyone else calls “free PR.”

So start with that and with hiring someone with serious chops to serve as editor-in-chief of the website. Hire someone who can organize the overwhelming number of stories you have coming in and then create a central narrative that is reflective of a premier national news source. That narrative should not mimic the Times, Journal or Post, but it should convey the same degree of gravitas and, more importantly, have an immediately recognizable style. 

Because branding, especially on the website, is way more important than CNN has ever realized it is and, sorry, “Anderson Cooper” is not branding.

The second thing you need to do, even before you make any other moves, is to get rid of the Outbrain spam links on the homepage. You know, the ones listed as “paid content” that say (and I am literally cutting and pasting here) “Men Over 40: No More Blue Pills (Watch)” and “This New Device Is Leaving Neuropathy Experts Baffled” (Neuropathy, Google tells me, is a disease of the nerves, not an area of medicine related to neurology. And the reason I used Google is because Apple’s Safari browser won’t even open the Outbrain websites—it tells me they are spam and blocks them.)

But I digress. 

Those “stories”, which appear at the bottom of every single page on the CNN website, cheapen your brand in ways the Murdochs can only dream of. 

They tell people that “nothing you read here is serious, it’s all just filler copy so that you can click on the spam links below.”

This taints your entire brand in ways no amount of affiliate marketing fees can make up for.

Enough about weaknesses though. Let’s talk about strengths

Video is clearly your strong point. The newspaper-based news sites have long struggled with video. The Times has a bunch of it, so does the Journal, but it’s often peripheral and used for service or special interest stories.

CNN, on the other hand, is all about video, meaning you can add clips to breaking news stories for users who want to go deeper, even linking them to live reports.

You can then use the video clips on social media as a way of driving people back to the website, or to promote the network and/or specific shows. You can even create narratives by linking Instagram stories together, each one going a little deeper than the one before.

This means you’d need to hire some people who have done that sort of thing —influencers or people who manage influencers, people who know how to work social media.

What you don't want is someone who was previously the Vienna bureau chief.

Video works in other ways, too. You can run clips and trailers of movies and TV shows you are reviewing. Product demos for your Wirecutter competitor. (You do actually have one. It’s called CNN Underscored, and you should definitely look to beef it up and enhance its credibility.)

You also have celebrities.

Both A-List movie and pop stars and political heavyweights.

Everyone wants to be on TV, so everyone, at some point, comes to CNN.

Use them.

Make some of those politicians write an op-ed for you if they’re going to do an appearance. Get some of those movie stars to create service pieces for you. It gives you solid articles that are both evergreen and create interest on social media.

Finally, there’s gaming.

Wordle is probably the best million dollars the Times ever spent. Find something in that vein, something addictive, but that you can also take to TV. Imagine if CNN owned Wordle and you then created a game show around it, one where people who played the game online also got a shot at appearing on TV, which would create an additional layer of interest and excitement.

That’s just a start, an off-the-top-of-my-head list.

There are plenty of other improvements and innovations that CNN can make to set itself off from its cable news peers and make it the preeminent 21st century global news source.

But they all start in the same place: the website.

Veteran news executive Mark Thompson was hired by Warner Bros. Discovery as chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide.

Thompson, former director general of the BBC and CEO of The New York Times Co., will report to David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Thompson is Zaslav’s second hire as head of CNN. The first was Chris Licht, who quickly flamed out after a tumultuous tenure.

CNN faces ratings challenges in its linear business and just announced a new lineup of programs and anchors. It is also just starting to move into the streaming world with CNN Max, which will be part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max direct-to-consumer service.

Also Read: For CNN, the Real Damage of the Chris Licht Era Was the 13 Wasted Months

“There isn’t a more experienced, respected or capable executive in the news business today than Mark, and we are thrilled to have him join our team and lead CNN Worldwide into the future,” said Zaslav. “Mark is a true innovator who has transformed for the digital age two of the world’s most respected news organizations. His strategic vision, track record in transformational leadership and sheer passion for news make him a formidable force for CNN and journalism at this pivotal time.”

CNN’s interim leadership team of Amy Entelis, executive VP, talent and content development; David Leavy, chief operating officer; Virginia Moseley, executive VP of editorial, CNN U.S., and Eric Sherling, executive of U.S. programming, will continue in their functional roles, reporting to Thompson, WBD said.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the chance to join CNN after years of watching it and competing against it with a mixture of admiration and envy,” Thompson said. “The world needs accurate, trustworthy news now more than ever and we’ve never had more ways of meeting that need at home and abroad. Where others see disruption, I see opportunity. I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get down to work with my new colleagues to build a successful future for CNN.”

Warner Bros. Discovery said that it will launch CNN Max, a new 24 hour, seven day a week streaming service that will be part of its Max streaming service on Sept. 27.

The launch is being described as an “open beta” that will enable experimentation with product features, content offering and original storytelling with input and feedback from viewers. Subscribers to all tiers of Max will have access to the streaming news service.

Warner Bros. Discovery cannot simply stream the current CNN channel because distribution agreements promise exclusivity to the cable operators who pay lucrative carriage fees. The new service will draw on programming now being broadcast in the U.S. via CNN International and CNN U.S., though. WarnerMedia launched CNN Plus, a streaming service, but it was quickly folded after Discovery acquired WarnerMedia and balked at the expense. 

On Discovery Warner Bros.'s recent earnings call, CEO David Zaslav said the company was making plans to add live sports and news to the Max streaming service.

The new CNN Max streaming service will include programming built specifically for the Max streaming audience, but feature familiar brands and talent like CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta, Rahel Solomon, Amara Walker and Fredricka Whitfield, and CNN Newsroom with Jim Sciutto. Sciutto will also lead breaking news coverage on the platform in the afternoons. CNN Max will additionally feature Amanpour, Anderson Cooper 360, The Lead with Jake Tapper, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, and other anchors, correspondents and contributors.

CNN recently announced a new programming lineup for its ratings-challenged cable channel.

“As we laid out at our launch only a few months ago, our vision for Max is to be The One to Watch for all members of a household,“  JB Perrette, CEO and president, Global Streaming and Games, for Warner Bros. Discovery, said. “We have the broadest and highest quality entertainment offering, and now will include world-leading news as a meaningful addition for all Max subscribers, at no extra charge.”

“CNN Max is differentiated by having 24/7 news at its core from CNN, the leading global news organization, and being available on a scaled streaming service in the U.S., which has a significantly younger and additive audience compared to traditional TV,“ Perrette said. “This provides even more quality choices for Max customers who will be able to easily catch up on what is happening in the world, particularly in moments of breaking news, all within one seamless experience. We’re excited to engage our Max community in this initial beta stage to help us learn and develop what appeals most to our customers in this new genre.”

The currently branded CNN Originals hub on Max will be renamed CNN Max, where subscribers have expanded access to the CNN Max 24/7 live stream, CNN Originals and other news content. 

Former President Donald Trump’s August 14 indictment in Georgia on charges that he attempted to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state helped boost the weekly ratings fortunes for the cable news networks last week.

Fox News Channel and MSNBC both averaged 1.6 million viewers in primetime to lead all cable networks during the week of August 14 to August 20, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. CNN finished in fifth place for the week with 770,000 viewers. 

NFL Network was the third most-watched network in primetime with 1 million viewers, followed by HGTV’s 803,000 viewers. TLC finished sixth for the week with 755,000 viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel (699,000 viewers), ESPN (683,000), INSP (663,000), and USA Network (619,000).

The three cable news networks topped the total day chart, led by Fox News with 1.1 million viewers, followed by MSNBC’s 1 million viewers and CNN’s 551,000 watchers. ESPN (451,000) and HGTV (438,000) rounded out the top five most-watched networks for the week on a 24-hour basis, according to Nielsen.  

CNN said it hired Arit John as a reporter covering national politics.

John, who has been a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, will cover the 2024 presidential election.

She will be based in Washington, D.C. 

Also Read: CNN Sets New Lineup With Abby Phillip at 10 p.m., Laura Coates at 11 p.m.

Before the L.A. Times, John spent almost five years at Bloomberg News. She also covered style at the New York Times and wrote about politics and entertainment for The Wire at the Atlantic. 

Struggling CNN announced a new programming lineup featuring Abby Phillip anchoring at 10 p.m. ET and Laura Coates at 11 p.m.

The previously announced King Charles, with Gayle King and Charles Barkley, will launch in the fall on Wednesdays.

Christiane Amanpour and Chris Wallace will be getting new weekend shows. Also getting new programs are Victor Blackwell, Pamela Brown and Manu Raju.

In the mornings, Kasie Hunt will anchor Early Start and Phil Mattingly will co-anchor CNN This Morning with Poppy Harlow.

The changes follow the departure of CNN CEO Chris Licht, who was hired by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav when Discovery acquired CNN parent WarnerMedia.

Going into an election year, CNN’s ratings have been challenged and the cable network is struggling with cord-cutting and in search of a digital strategy.

MSNBC and Fox News Channel have also shuffled their lineups recently.

Phillip is anchor of CNN’s Inside Politics Sunday. Her new primetime show, CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip, will be anchored from New York.

Coates, the network’s chief legal analyst, will be based in Washington, D.C, with Laura Coates Live.

The new primetime shows will follow hours anchored by Erin Burnett at 7 p.m., Anderson Cooper at 8 p.m. and Kaitlan Collins at 9 p.m. 

CNN said the new schedule will roll out “in the weeks ahead.”

three Fox News extended its hot summer ratings performance into August with a sweep of both the primetime and total day charts. 

Fox News averaged 1.8 million viewers in primetime during the week of July 31 to August 6 to top all cable networks for the sixth straight week, according to Nielsen figures supplied by Fox News. MSNBC finished second with 1.5 million viewers, followed by HGTV’s 768,000 viewers and Hallmark Channel’s 724,000 watchers.

INSP was the fifth most-watched network for the week with 719,000 viewers, followed by CNN (710,000 viewers), History (676,000), USA Network (651,000), TLC (627,000) and Food Network (528,000).

The August 5 arraignment of Donald Trump in Washington D.C. federal court helped three cable news networks top the total day charts last week. Fox News led all networks with 1.1 million viewers, followed by MSNBC with 966,000 viewers and CNN with 547,000 watchers. HGTV (427,000 viewers) and Hallmark Channel (426,000) rounded out the top five most-watched networks on a 24-hour basis, according to Nielsen.  

Fox News Channel’s new primetime programming lineup helped the network remain at the top of both the cable primetime and total day charts last week.

Fox News averaged 1.8 million viewers in primetime during the week of July 17 to July 23 to top all cable networks for the fourth consecutive week, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. The network was led by the July 17 launch of its revamped 8 pm to 11 pm lineup, featuring shows  Jesse Watters Primetime, Hannity, and Gutfeld!. Adding in its 7 p.m. series The Ingraham Angle and its 11 p.m. show Fox News @ Night with Trace Gallagher, Fox News averaged 2.1 million viewers for its 7 pm to 11 p.m. lineup, besting competing cable networks CNN and MSNBC in total viewers.

MSNBC finished second in primetime with 1.2 million viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel with 739,000 viewers, INSP with 711,000 viewers, and HGTV with 671,000 watchers.

Rounding out the top 10 most-watched networks in primetime were History (660,000 viewers), TLC (631,000), USA Network (608,000), Discovery Channel (567,000), and TBS (553,000).

On a 24-hour basis, Fox News extended its winning streak to 29 weeks with an average of 1.1 million viewers. MSNBC was a distant second with 779,000 viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel (475,000), USA Network (441,000), and CNN (426,000). 

Fox News held off ESPN to win its third straight weekly primetime cable ratings crown. 

Fox News averaged 1.4 million viewers during the week of July 10 to July 16 to top all cable networks, according to Nielsen ratings supplied by Fox News. ESPN, bolstered by its July 10 MLB Home Run Derby coverage, finished second with 1.2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC with 1.1 million watchers.

INSP was fourth for the week with 788,000 viewers, while Hallmark Channel finished fifth with 724,000 viewers. HGTV (710,000 viewers), History (704,000), TLC (674,000), Discovery Channel (643,000), and USA Network (632,000) rounded out the top 10 most-watched cable networks in primetime.

Fox News increased its winning streak on the total day chart to 28 weeks, averaging 1 million viewers to top MSNBC (730,000), ESPN (630,000), Hallmark Channel (442,000) and CNN (411,000), according to Nielsen.

As Elisabeth Moss’s memorable Mad Men character Peggy Olson once remarked in a Sterling Cooper pitch meeting, ”If you don't like what people are saying about you, change the conversation.” 

Credit CNN with doing just that Monday.

The cable news network, which generated big headlines earlier this month after it fired its top executive, Chris Licht, came up with the scoop of the month when it exclusively obtained audio recordings of former President Donald Trump appearing to illegally and insecurely discuss classified documents containing U.S. military invasion plans in a conversation recorded in 2021. 

“This is secret information,” Trump says in the recording, making what appears to be a criminally damning admission. 

This audio recording is expected to be a central piece of evidence in the U.S. Justice Department’s ongoing indictment of the former president. 

You can read CNN's digital report and listen to the audio here. You can also see Anderson Cooper's report here. 

Linear ratings haven’t been reported, but CNN — which had its big scoop featured at the top of The Drudge Report late Monday — is almost assuredly up over what have been record-low audiences of late for the cable news channel. 

David Bohrman, an innovative TV news producer and executive, died Sunday at age 69 of complications after hip surgery.

Bohrman worked at ABC News, CBS News and NBC News before joining CNN in 1996. He became CNN’s Washington bureau chief, senior VP, and chief innovation officer, overseeing special events including presidential debates.

He is credited with bringing the touchscreen “Magic Wall,” now a staple of election night coverage, to CNN.

In a note to staffers at CNN, Bohrman was described as being “the creator of more news programming than almost any other producer working in television news today.”

The memo noted that Bohrman had been a mentor to many in the business. “Wherever he went, David was an innovator, using the latest technology to enhance storytelling,” the memo said.

Bohrman started his TV career as a producer at what is now KCBS Los Angeles. He won six Emmy awards, two Peabody Awards, four duPont Awards and a Polk Award.

After CNN, Bohrman served as president of Al Gore’s Current TV. 

CNN has teamed with LeBron James’s The SpringHill Co. to develop a docuseries on the history of black television, debuting July 9.

The five-part See It Loud: The History of Black Television will celebrate the achievements of Black actors and creators, while examining the historical impact Black culture has had on all culture, according to the network. The series looks at Black television's origins through such series and sitcoms as the The Jeffersons and dramas like Roots, and explores emerging opportunities for Black voices in sci-fi, horror and unscripted genres, said CNN. 

See It Loud: The History of Black Television will feature appearances by Anika Noni Rose, Debbie Allen, Gabrielle Union, Jimmie Walker, Lynn Whitfield, Mo’Nique, Omari Hardwick, Tatyana Ali, Tisha Campbell and Vivica A. Fox, said CNN.

The series is executive produced by James, Maverick Carter, Amy Entelis, Lyle Gamm, Jodi Gomes, Jamal Henderson and Philip Byron.

MSNBC and Fox News last week ended TNT’s seven-week run at the top spot of the cable primetime chart, while also finishing in the top two spots on the total day chart.

MSNBC and Fox News both averaged 1.5 million viewers for the week of June 5 to June 11 to top all cable networks, according to Nielsen figures supplied by Fox News. In fact, according to TV Newser's A.J. Katz, MSNBC edged out Fox News, averaging 1,520,857 primetime viewers to 1,504,429 for Fox News, ending a 120-week win streak for Fox News. ESPN finished third on the chart with 1 million viewers, followed by TNT’s 923,000 viewers and INSP’s 795,000 watchers.

Rounding out the most-watched networks in primetime for the week were HGTV (764,000 viewers), History (704,000), CNN (677,000), Hallmark Channel (654,000) and USA Network (646,000).

On a 24-hour basis, Fox News led all networks for the 23rd consecutive week with 1 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (932,000 viewers), CNN (491,000), ESPN (444,000) and HGTV (406,000), according to Nielsen.  

While costly missteps, bad newsroom morale and low ratings flavored the narrative of former CNN CEO Chris Lichts firing this week, advertising intelligence company MediaRadar reveals that a precipitous recent decline in ad sales revenue for CNN probably factored into Licht's departure, as well.

According to MediaRadar data, over 2,000 companies spent $312.6 million from January through April on CNN digital and linear TV ads. That was down 39% from the same four-month period of 2022. 

April was particularly slow, the firm noted, with CNN ad sales declining 48% to just $80 million. 

“Our data analysis suggests a significant downward trend in CNN's ad revenue during Chris Licht's tenure, reflecting substantial declines both in total spend and in the number of advertisers,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO and co-founder of MediaRadar, in a statement. 

MediaRadar also said that CNN has been attracting fewer advertisers of late.

From January through April 2022, 68 companies had invested $2 million or more on CNN outlets, and were collectively responsible for nearly $236 million during that period. 

In stark contrast, for the same timeframe in 2023, there were only 17 companies investing at this level, a 75% year-over-year decrease. 

These companies accounted for a mere $95 million, marking a 60% collective spend decrease. Major corporations, including Thumbtack, Apple, Cisco Systems and The Walt Disney Company, have all reduced their ad spend with CNN by over 90% year over year, MediaRadar added.

In what seemed like a foregone conclusion in the wake of Friday's damning profile of CNN's top executive in The Atlantic, Chris Licht was fired from the cable news network. 

Also read: CNN’s Licht Apologizes to Newsroom Following Disastrous ‘Atlantic’ Profile, But Staffers Privately Say, ‘He’s Done’

According to numerous published reports, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav informed CNN staff of the unsurprising move in a regular Wednesday morning editorial call. 

A team of three executives will handle CNN's editorial operations on an interim basis: Amy Entelis, a veteran CNN exec who manages talent relations; Virginia Moseley, recently tapped to oversee editorial operations; and Eric Sherling, recently named head of U.S. programming. 

David Leavy, a longtime Zaslav lieutenant who was named CNN COO last week, will oversee business activities. 

By any measure, Licht's 13-month tenure has been disastrous: Ratings have declined to the point at which CNN, still a news giant with around 4,000 employees, now trails a small, fringe far-right competitor, Newsmax, in primetime audience performance; an attempt to turn former CNN primetime anchor Don Lemon into a morning-show personality utterly failed in a public way; and a decision to provide a town-hall forum for Donald Trump in May, complimenting it with a partisan crowd favoring the highly controversial former president, undermined Licht's already shaky credibility within the newsroom, not to mention viewers not aligned with Trump's MAGA movement. 

Then there was the decision in and of itself to give Atlantic writer Tim Alberta unfettered access over a period of months, which seems to have provided the final, fatal blow to Licht's CNN tenure. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, CNN's biggest on-air hitters, Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper and Erin Burnett, have all criticized Licht to upper management in recent days. 

Licht seemed to grasp the objectives put forth by Zaslav and his boss, Liberty Media chief John Malone, who wanted to transition a cable news network known as a key resister of the Trump Administration back into a centrist linear news channel representing "both sides," regardless of how irrational, dangerous or objectionable the political agenda. 

But while he understood the game plan, Licht seemed to fumble far too often. 

One line in Alberta's 15,000-word opus seemed particularly on-the-nose: “Licht’s theory of CNN — what had gone wrong, how to fix it and why doing so could lift the entire industry — made a lot of sense. The execution of that theory? Another story. Every move he made, big programming decisions and small tactical maneuvers alike, seemed to backfire.”

Looking at Licht's tenure another way, Puck's Dylan Byers wrote this morning that the real damage wrought by Licht's rocky 13-month CNN ride was what he chose not to do. 

Licht, Byers wrote, "spent 13 months at CNN rearranging deck chairs on a declining distribution platform, moving anchors to one time slot or another and tweaking aesthetics that were invisible or irrelevant to the remaining viewers. While the New York Times was diversifying into an always-on digital lifestyle brand with great journalism and video and podcasts (and games and product recommendations and recipes), Licht was creating milquetoast television for a bygone era that miffed his own employees and alienated CNN's core audience."

Chris Licht, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, is out after his 13-month stint atop the news organization. He took over at CNN from Jeff Zucker, who had been fired for an undisclosed relationship, in April 2022. 

Licht’s time at CNN was rocky, including overseeing the shutdown of CNN Plus and the controversial Donald Trump town hall on May 31. CNN noted “a series of severe missteps” in a story about Licht departing. 

“I met with Chris and he will be leaving CNN,” David Zaslav, CEO of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, told CNN employees at the start of the network’s daily editorial call June 7.

The Atlantic published a lengthy profile on Licht and his tenure, entitled "Inside the Meltdown at CNN", June 2, which CNN described as “devastating.”

Licht had been executive producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS, and executive VP of special programming at the network, where he helped relaunch the morning news. He’d previously produced Morning Joe on MSNBC, which he co-created. He began his TV career in 1995 at KNBC Los Angeles.  

Last week, David Leavy was named CNN chief operating officer. He will help run things until a new leader is named, along with Amy Entelis, executive VP, talent and content development; Virginia Moseley, executive VP, editorial; and Eric Sherling, executive VP, U.S. programming. 

Puck News previously reported on Licht’s departure. 

CNN generated $750 million in profit in 2022, according to The New York Times, down from $1.25 billion the year before, with the demise of CNN Plus a factor in 2022's diminished profit.  

Chris Licht apologized to staff Monday morning after the publication Friday of a lengthy profile in The Atlantic, for which he gave writer Tim Alberta wide-reaching access, painted an embarrassing portrait of the embattled CNN chief. 

“CNN is not about me,” Licht told the newsroom during following publication of an Atlantic article titled “Inside the Meltdown at CNN.” 

“I should not be in the news unless it’s taking arrows for you,” he also said, adding that he’d “fight like hell” to earn back the newsroom's trust. 

Now more than a year into his tenure at CNN, the former Morning Joe, CBS This Morning and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert executive producer already seemed on thin ice on Thursday, when parent company Warner Bros. Discovery announced the hiring of David Leavy, longtime aide to WBD CEO David Zaslav, as CNN's new chief operating officer. 

With CNN's ratings even falling behind lightly regarded right-wing cable channel Newsmax these days, Leavy’s hiring was spun as an attempt to take the business piece off Licht's plate and allow the CNN chairman and CEO to concentrate on what he ostensibly knows best, programming. 

But now, all bets appear off. Writing in New York Magazine Monday, Brian Stelter — fired himself by Licht from CNN last August — wrote that Zaslav knew The Atlantic's 15,000-word “defenestration of Licht” was about to hit newsstands and web browsers, and he hired Leavy to ”survey and repair the damage.”

Stelter describes Leavy as besieged by high-level CNN personalities, seeking counsel and declaring their lost confidence in Licht. 

“I feel like a quarterback without a coach,” Stelter wrote, quoting one unnamed CNN anchor. 

Amalgamating conversations with what he described as three separate CNN newsroom employees, Stelter also penned these quotes: “He’s over.” “He’s done.” “There’s no coming back from that profile.”

Beyond belying Licht’s judgment (and that of CNN communications chief Matt Dornic)  for allowing Alberta to tag along with the CEO for months as he worked out with his personal trainer and performed various other daily tasks, The Atlantic piece paints a damning portrait of an executive who talks a good game, but who has fumbled or lined up offsides again and again. 

“Licht’s theory of CNN — what had gone wrong, how to fix it and why doing so could lift the entire industry — made a lot of sense,” Alberta wrote. “The execution of that theory? Another story. Every move he made, big programming decisions and small tactical maneuvers alike, seemed to backfire.”

CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht said that David Leavy, a long-time aide to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, has been appointed chief operating officer at CNN, a new post.

Warner Bros. Discovery acquired CNN when it bought WarnerMedia from AT&T last year and has made a number of changes in both the executive ranks and on-camera talent as it tried to shed the impression that it focused on opposing former President Donald Trump.

Leavy has been with Discovery for 23 years, most recently serving as chief corporate affairs officer for WBD. The company said he will retain public policy and social responsibility oversight on behalf of WBD.

Also Read: CNN Shocker: Friday Night Primetime Ratings Fell Below the Newsmax Line

“David’s deep operational experience, institutional knowledge and key industry relationships perfectly complements the strengths of our leadership team,” said Licht.

“He is a strategic, versatile and dynamic executive who will work with myself and the senior leadership team to help transform our business as we get the full programming slate on the air, build out our digital future and grow the CNN brand around the world,“ he said. “Everyone who works with David has seen how his energy, work ethic and collaborative style positively impacts an organization, and I can’t wait for him to join me and the CNN team.” 

CNN named Kaitlan Collins to anchor the 9 p.m. hours of the news network’s ratings-challenged primetime lineup.

Collins has been an anchor of CNN’s morning show and recently moderated the network’s controversial town hall featuring former President Donald Trump.

“In her new program, officially launching later this summer, Kaitlan will showcase why she’s one of the top reporters and interviewers in the game,” CNN CEO Chris Licht said. “She is a smart and gifted journalist who we’ve all seen hold lawmakers and newsmakers accountable. She pushes politicians off their talking points, gets real answers — and as everyone who’s worked with her knows — breaks a lot of news.”

Licht said the new show would start in June.

“Every night, she’ll bring fresh reporting that adds new perspective to the biggest stories of the day,“ Licht said. “Kaitlan will expose uncovered angles and challenge conventional wisdom to make sure viewers are seeing a story from every side. When she doesn’t know the answer, she asks — and she won’t stop until she gets them. 

“I know there will be a lot of interest in working with Kaitlan and this new show,“ he continued. “We will be reviewing internal candidates and opening up a nationwide search for an executive producer to work with our development team to build this program and help it take shape.” 

CNN’s primetime has been in flux. Chris Cuomo who had the 9 p.m. slot was fired when the network discovered he’d been improperly advising his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Don Lemon, who had the 10 p.m. timeslot, was moved to the morning show last year, where he co-anchored with Collins, until he was dismissed last month.

Licht said Collins will transition off CNN This Morning, which will be led by Poppy Harlow alongside a rotation of CNN guest anchors.

Two days after hosting a highly controversial "town hall" interview with former President Donald Trump, CNN saw its primetime ratings drop to historic levels, with the network finishing even behind upstart far-right channel Newsmax. 

CNN averaged only 335,000 viewers from 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. Friday vs. 357,000 for Newsmax, according to Nielsen live plus same day data provided by numerous outlets, despite the fact that Newsmax lacks distribution on Frontier Communications and other pay TV platforms. 

Despite the loss of Tucker Carlson, Fox News easily won the evening with a 1.44 million viewer average, followed by MSNBC (1.08 million).

Also read: CNN Averages Only 3.3 Million Viewers for Reputation-Wilting Trump Town Hall

In the adults 25-54 demo, the coin of the realm in Cable Newsland, CNN actually performed better, averaging 87,000 viewers to finish in third place ahead of Newsmax (45,000).

But the total viewer performance highlighted, in a headline-generating way, a sustained ratings slump for CNN, which has pledged to reorient its coverage to what it believes is the political center. 

In March, CNN reported a steep 61% year-over-year total audience dip, suggesting it's not been able to replace viewer defections on the left with new watchers on the right. 

Meanwhile, now more than a year into the reign of Chris Licht, tensions are running high inside the newsroom, with the CNN president reportedly dressing down CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy for his critical coverage of the Trump town hall appearance. 

A Puck report described Darcy as being visibly shaken after the Friday meeting, during which Licht accused the reporter's coverage of being overly emotional. 

A highly controversial “town hall” appearance Wednesday evening on CNN by former President Donald Trump averaged 3.308 million total viewers and 781,000 viewers in the coveted adults 25-54 demo, according to updated Nielsen data provided by the network. 

That performance was good enough to trounce cable news rivals Fox News Channel and MSNBC in primetime — a feat ratings-starved CNN hasn't done too much of regularly. 

CNN noted that the 2024 presidential hopeful's Wednesday night performance generated the second biggest audience for a single-candidate town hall since 2016, trailing only a Joe Biden appearance in September 2020, which averaged 3.465 million viewers. 

However, critics said the viewership was modest, especially compared to the cable news audiences Trump generated during his frequent appearances in the run-up to his successful 2016 presidential bid. 

In the words of media business pundit and former CNN on-air figure Brian Stelter, "These are not 2015/16 level numbers for Trump — not even close."

Also communicating on Twitter, current CNN analyst and former New York Times media reported Bill Carter added, "Has to be considered surprising (stunning?) result given both previous Trump ratings power + massive build-up."

Notably, the pay TV ecosystem within which CNN lives was about 25% bigger eight years ago, but there were other factors.

Carter suggested that CNN's core audience just doesn't favor Trump. He also mentioned this possible factor: "Trump TV magic is gone." 

Or, as virulent Trump critic Keith Olbrermann also noted, CNN "sold their soul for nothing."  

Also read: Zaslav Champions 'Both Sides' Journalism For CNN: 'We Need to Hear Both Voices'

Indeed, given the former president's strong identification with the January 6 Insurrection, not to mention his myriad legal woes, both criminal and civil, CNN and parent company Warner Bros. Discovery faced arduous criticism about the appearance just in its run-up over the past few weeks. 

With Trump facing a friendly crowd at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire Wednesday, and CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins — a former denizen of Tucker Carlson’s Daily Caller — seemingly overmatched amid a barrage of sustained Trump lies about such things as the 2020 election being rigged, the criticism is much worse on Thursday. 

All of this comes before mentioning Trump's ugly attacks during the telecast on writer E. Jean Carroll, the writer who just successfully sued him for sexual battery and defamation.

CNN president Chris Licht praised Collins for her town hall performance. 

“I absolutely unequivocally believe America was served very well by what we did last night, because it laid bare and created, in the words of Joe Scarborough, a political earthquake, and that people woke up and they know what the stakes are in this election in a way that they didn’t the day before," Licht said during a virtual editorial staff meeting for CNN Thursday morning. 

But gender equity advocacy group Ultraviolet, which urged CNN not to move forward with platforming Trump, called on the network to fire Licht on Thursday. 

“CNN’s town hall was a disaster,” Shaunna Thomas, executive director of Ultraviolet, said. "CNN knew Donald Trump would lie about the 2020 election and make reckless, untrue claims about everything from January 6th to abortion. He even mocked E. Jean Carroll the day after a federal court convicted him of defamation and sexual assault against her. CNN not only allowed Trump to do so — they enabled him. 

“The network must take accountability by firing CEO Chris Licht, who knowingly broadcasted lies and conspiracies on national television," Thomas added. 

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav used a Thursday appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box to defend the cable news network's decision to bring embattled former President Donald Trump back on its air, while also declaring the channel's commitment to "both-sides" journalism. 

"He should be ... he should be," Zaslav said, after Squawk Box host Joe Kernen asked him to confirm that Trump is really returning to CNN after a lengthy absence for a town hall event on May 10. 

"The U.S. has a divided government. We need to hear both voices," Zaslav said. "Democrats are on the air on CNN, Republicans are on the air on CNN. All voices should be heard on CNN." 

Zaslav was appearing on Squawk Box to discuss broader WBD issues on the day the media company reported first-quarter earnings. CNBC posted the entire three-minute, 32-second CNN portion of the interview focused on CNN on Twitter. 

Trump, of course, isn't just any Republican voice. After receiving vast amounts of exposure on CNN in the run-up to his successful 2016 Presidential bid, Trump regularly shunned the network as "fake news," and often refused to engage CNN journalists during his presidency.

Beyond the issue of the network's basic sense of self-dignity and pride, critics have pointed out that Trump is currently facing numerous criminal indictments, and has spearheaded a movement to undermine the credibility of U.S. elections. 

After everything that's happened, is it a good idea to still hear Trump's "side," they ask?

“Donald Trump is a flagrant misogynist on trial for rape, an insurrectionist under investigation for attempting to overturn an election, and a notorious liar under indictment for hush money payments to an adult film star from his political campaign. CNN’s decision to provide Trump with a platform is dangerous," said Shaunna Thomas, co-founder and executive director of UltraViolet, a leading national gender equality advocacy organization. 

“We’ve been here before. We know what happens when a major network gives Donald Trump free airtime and an unfettered platform to spew lies and hate. It did not end well. CNN should cancel this event now."

For his part, Zaslav noted, "There are a number of advocacy networks out there ... Our focus is to be a network [about] the best version of the facts ... great journalism, and not just politics, either. But when we do politics, we need to represent both sides." 

For his part, Kernen's Squawk Box co-host, Andrew Ross Sorkin, wondered if that was a winning business strategy, given the currently low state of CNN's audience ratings. CNN saw a 61% year-over-year prime-time audience decline in March, for example.

"Look, we've got an election season coming, and this is a new CNN," Zaslav responded. 

Former President Donald Trump will appear on CNN in a town hall event in New Hampshire May 10. Kaitlan Collins, a co-host on CNN This Morning, will moderate from St. Anselm College. 

Trump has not been on CNN since his 2016 presidential campaign, repeatedly deriding the “fake news” he said the network produces. 

The town hall happens at 8 p.m. ET. Trump will take questions from New Hampshire Republicans and undeclared voters. 

An early front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, Trump is facing a host of legal matters. He pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in New York. He’s being sued by E. Jean Carroll, who alleged that Trump raped her in the mid-1990s. Special counsel Jack Smith is leading a pair of investigations, one related to the 2021 attack on the Capitol, and one on the handling of classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. 

Trump may also face charges in Georgia related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election. 

John King is stepping down as anchor of Inside Politics, and Dana Bash will take over later this year. King, CNN chief national correspondent, will take on a new role focused on voters in battleground states during the upcoming presidential election. 

Inside Politics is on weekdays at 12 p.m. and Sundays at 8 a.m. Abby Phillip anchors the Sunday show. 

Bash, CNN chief political correspondent, said that she is “thrilled” to be taking over the show. “After nearly 30 years at CNN covering campaigns, Capitol Hill and the White House, I am excited to helm a program devoted to the politics that impact Americans’ lives,” Bash said on CNN.com. “John built an extraordinary show that has attracted a loyal audience of political junkies, and I am looking forward to leading its next chapter.”

Based in Washington, Bash will continue to be co-anchor of State of the Union with Jake Tapper.

King joined CNN in 1997 and was senior White House correspondent from 1999 to 2005. He became CNN chief national correspondent in 2005. 

King said in a statement: “This is my ‘back to the future’ dream assignment. It is my tenth presidential cycle and, given the stakes, I felt it was time to get back to my roots reporting across the country.”

Longtime CNN anchor Don Lemon is out at the network, Lemon confirmed on social media Monday.

Lemon, who worked at CNN for 17 years, most recently hosting the network's CNN This Morning show with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, said in a tweet that he was informed of his dismissal by his agent. 

“I am stunned. After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have the decency to tell me directly,” Lemon said in the tweet. “At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network.”

On the CNN Communications (@CNNPR) Twitter account, the network said Lemon’s statement was “inaccurate. He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”

“CNN and Don have parted ways,” another CNN Communications tweet said. “Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years. We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors.”

CNN CEO Chris Licht said in a statement that Lemon “will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years.”

In February 2023, Lemon was off the air following derogatory comments he made toward older women during a discussion about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. 

Lemon’s departure comes on the heels of Fox News Channel’s decision to let go of popular primetime host Tucker Carlson.

Gayle King and Charles Barkley are officially teaming up for a new weekly primetime show on CNN.

CNN CEO Chris Licht announced that the show will be called King Charles and will air on Wednesday nights starting in the fall and continuing into 2024.

“This show will be an exciting new way we are delivering culturally relevant programming and unique perspectives to our audience, from two incredibly dynamic personalities,“ Licht said. ”We are excited that they are both able to join us in addition to their current respective roles with Gayle continuing to anchor CBS Mornings.” 

Reports that CNN was trying to get Barkley and King to do a show to shore up the news networks sagging primetime ratings have been circulating for weeks.

Barkley is the NBA hall of famer turned basketball analyst for TNT, which like CNN, is part of Warner Bros. Discovery. 

“King Charles exemplifies the one-team, one-company mentality with Charles playing double duty at CNN and in his role at WBD Sports,” Licht said.

Both Barkley and King said they they hadn’t planned on adding new television jobs.

On NBA Tip-Off on TNT Saturday, Barkley said that when approached with the idea, he said, “Hell no. I don’t want to be on TV more.” But when he heard he would be working with King, he changed his mind. “Oh yeah. I’ll work with Gayle. That’s the only way.”

King said she felt the same way.

Fox News remained the most watched network in primetime and total day last week despite competition from the start of the National Basketball Association playoffs. 

Fox News averaged 2.1 million viewers in primetime for the week of April 10-April 16 for its third straight win in the category, according to Nielsen. The NBA's post-season play-in tournament boosted TNT to second place with 1.5 million viewers and ESPN to fourth place with 1.1 million watchers. MSNBC finished third with 1.2 million viewers.

HGTV finished fifth with 963,000 viewers, followed by INSP (728,000 viewers), History (717,000), Hallmark Channel (696,000), USA Network (570,000) and Food Network (564,000).

Fox News dominated the total day charts for the 14th consecutive week, averaging 1.3 million viewers and topping MSNBC (798,000 viewers), ESPN (606,000), TNT (550,000) and CNN (449,000), reported Nielsen. 

Also: Fox News Admits Making False Claims As It Settles Dominion Systems Lawsuit

HBO Max led a field of more than 40 streaming, services, networks and digital companies nominated for 2023 NAMIC Vision Awards, the diversity organization announced Tuesday morning (April 18).

HBO Max -- which will be rebranded to Max next month -- drew eight Vision Awards nominations to lead all distributors, according to the organization. The Vision Awards honor excellence in inclusive programming. 

ABC also garnered multiple nominations along with Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Hulu, Disney Channel, Starz, AMC, CBS, PBS, Fuse, Food Network, CNN, Revolt, ESPN, TBS/TNT/TruTV, CBS Sports, World Channel and Sesame Workshop.

ABC shows Abbott Elementary, black-ish and The Wonder Years secured three of the five slots in the best comedy series award category, with Disney Plus’s Ms. Marvel and CBS Studios’s The Neighborhood rounding out the category.

On the best drama side, freshman series Dark Winds (AMC) and Women of the Movement (ABC) will battle veteran shows 9-1-1 (Fox), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) and The Good Fight (Paramount Plus) for top honors.

Shows earning multiple nominations include Ms. Marvel, The Neighborhood, Dark Winds, Raven’s Home (Disney Channel), Taste the Culture (TBS/TNT/TruTV), Sesame Street (Sesame Workshop) and The Hair Tales (Hulu).

NAMIC said it will announce winners in each category this May.

Below are the list of nominees for the 2023 NAMIC Vision Awards:

Animation 

Craig of the Creek – Cartoon Network

Karma’s World – 9 Story Media Group

More Than I Want to Remember – MTV Entertainment Studios 

Star Trek: Lower Decks – Paramount Plus 

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder – Disney Plus

Best Performance – Comedy

Frankie Quiñones (This Fool) – Hulu 

Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel) – Disney Plus 

Omari Hardwick (Fantasy Football) – Paramount Plus

Raven-Symoné: (Raven’s Home) – Disney Channel 

Tichina Arnold: (The Neighborhood) – CBS Studios

Best Performance – Drama 

Cliff “Method Man” Smith: (Power Book II: Ghost) – Starz 

Courtney B. Vance: (61st Street) – AMC 

Patina Miller: (Power Book III: Raising Kana) - Starz

Viola Davis:(The First Lady) – Showtime

Zahn McClarnon: (Dark Winds) – AMC 

Children’s

Mira, Royal Detective – Disney Junior

Raven’s Home – Disney Channel 

Rise Up, Sing Out – Disney Junior 

Sesame Street – Sesame Workshop 

That Girl Lay Lay – Nickelodeon 

Comedy 

Abbott Elementary – Warner Bros. Television | ABC 

black-ish – ABC 

Ms. Marvel – Disney Plus

The Neighborhood – CBS Studios 

The Wonder Years – ABC 

Digital Media – Short Form 

Sesame Street’s #ComingTogether Word of the Day Series – Sesame Workshop 

Taste the Culture – tbs/TNT/truTV

TO BE FREE: Featuring Natasha Cloud – CBS Sports 

Historian’s Take: What is #LandBack? Inside New Native American TV Shows – PBS 

Why Am I Like This?: Where Does My Skin Color Come From? – PBS 

Documentary 

Aftershock – Hulu Asian American Stories of Resilience and Beyond – World Channel 

Fannie Lou Hamer’s America: An America ReFramed Special – American Documentary, Inc. and World Channel 

Invisible Valley - Fuse 

Master of Light – HBO Max 

Drama

9-1-1 - FOX 

Dark Winds – AMC 

Grey’s Anatomy – ABC 

The Good Fight – Paramount Plus 

Women of the Movement – ABC 

Lifestyle 

Delicious Miss Brown – Food Network 

Married to Real Estate – HGTV 

Outchef’d – Food Network 

Selena + Chef – HBO Max 

Spring Baking Championship: Easter – Food Network 

News/Informational 

GMA in Ghana/The ‘Black Panther’ Effect – Good Morning America 

The Color of Care – Smithsonian Channel 

The Hair Tales – Onyx Collective/OWN/Hulu 

Traffic Stop: Dangerous Encounters – CNN 

What Happened to Anton Black – Dateline 

Original Movie or Special 

A Gingerbread Christmas – Food Network 

A Rich Christmas – BET+ 

REVOLT x Michelle Obama: The Cross-Generational Conversation – REVOLT 

The Real Thirst Trap: Investigating Black America’s Water Crisis – REVOLT 

Unsound – Fuse 

Reality 

90 Day Fiancé – TLC 

Lizzo Watch Out For The Big Grrrls – Amazon 

Made From Scratch – Fuse 

We’re Here – HBO Max 

Why Not Us: Southern Dance – ESPN+ 

Reality – Social Issues 

Inside College Football: Mental Health – CBS Sports 

Taste the Culture – tbs/TNT/truTV SC 

Featured: Jackie to Me – ESPN 

SC Featured: Net Worth – ESPN 

The Hair Tales – Onyx Collective/OWN/Hulu 

Sports 

38 At the Garden – HBO Max 

After Jackie – History Channel 

Dream On – ESPN 

Say Hey, Willie Mays! – HBO Max 

Serena Williams: On Her Terms – CNN 

Variety/Talk Show 

Don’t Cancel Me with Amara La Negra – Fuse 

Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel – HBO Max

PAUSE with Sam Jay – HBO Max 

The Amber Ruffin Show – Peacock 

Yvonne Orji: A Whole Me. – HBO Max

The great political sage (and former Texas agriculture commissioner) Jim Hightower once said, “There’s nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.” A progressive Democrat in a state that was rapidly turning hard-red Republican, Hightower knew whereof he spoke. 

And yet, that’s exactly where CNN sits, alongside stinky armored not-rats and sun-blasted paint, trying to find a durable and lucrative audience amid a serious ratings swoon, while also attempting to avoid that speeding semi-truck called industry-wide transformation. Short-term decisions made for financial exigencies may already be having long-term consequences. Like a five-day-old dead armadillo, CNN is starting to smell a little. 

A year after changing corporate daddies to Warner Bros. Discovery and division leadership to Chris Licht, it’s fair to wonder where the preeminent TV news brand is headed. 

As CNN showed in the early days of the Ukraine invasion, it still had the reach and bench of talented correspondents last year to thoroughly cover a big international story from multiple angles. None, and I repeat none, of its broadcast and cable competitors marshaled the same resources in such a comprehensive way. The only news organizations with anything like CNN’s global credibility are the surging The New York Times and a fading BBC. 

Its online site, CNN.com, has been a semi-secret powerhouse too. It trails only the Times and, still somehow, Yahoo.com among the top U.S. news-publishing sites, according to SimilarWeb.com. 

CNN.com had 1.78 billion visits over the past three month, with two-thirds on mobile, which made it the 34th-most popular site in the U.S. and 88th biggest on the planet, said SimilarWeb. That makes the website a force multiplier for the cable network, expanding its reach, reputation and revenue generation, especially during high-profile news cycles.  

CNN.com traffic remains nearly double FoxNews.com (No. 119 globally, 997 million visitors past three months) and miles beyond digital afterthought MSNBC (No. 4,769 globally, 55 million visits).  

Where CNN is not ahead is in, um, cable news. 

Back when the Warner Bros. Discovery deal was aborning in late 2021, power-behind-the-throne and future WBD board member John Malone said he hoped CNN would get back to doing journalism. 

That was a shot, ultimately, at all three cable news networks and their Trump-era obsessions with political divisions, partisan personalities and endless hot takes. Last summer, Malone took his journalism critique a bit further, telling the New York Times he hoped the news networks would do a better job distinguishing between news and opinion.

CEO David Zaslav and Licht duly tacked to the center. Company executives have made much of the number of Republican politicians and other conservative commentators they’ve had on air in recent months. The big-name/big-polarization personalities of primetime are largely gone. 

Licht, meanwhile, has been trying to turn the morning newscast into something more like the personality-driven Morning Joe on MSNBC or CBS This Morning, both of which Licht previously headed. 

He installed former primetime star Don Lemon into CNN This Morning with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. The initial product did not thrive, especially after the run-and-gun Lemon said GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not “in her prime,” among other on-air gaffes and off-air conflicts with co-hosts. That fueled an Oscar-night rebuke from Michelle Yeoh and a time-out for “training” for Lemon. 

Morning ratings, meanwhile, have been brutal: 360,000 total viewers/just 73,000 in the demo, versus Fox News’ 1.2 million total/170,000 in the demo. In response, two weeks ago, Licht swapped in new executive producers Laura Mensch and Chris Russell to stanch the stench. 

Licht is also unveiling a new midday news block, CNN News Central, that debuts beginning this week. Two three-hour blocks of midday programming will emanate from New York and Washington, with new sets and a graphics-heavy look designed to evoke election-night bells and whistles. 

And the suddenly personality-free primetime is being filled with one-off Town Hall programming and extended interviews. 

So, big changes all the way around. 

But there in the middle of the road, the company has mostly discovered the previously mentioned stiffening Cingulata and yellow stripes, but not much in the way of actual viewers. 

Primetime ratings are down 61% this month, Nielsen says, and in the prized 18-49 demographic, the audience is down 40% over the past year. 

That’s the worst of the Big Three, at a time when it’s tough to be a cable network, or a news operation in a non-campaign year. Cord-cutting across the industry whacks the big players such as CNN and ESPN worst because they make the most from both advertising and carriage fees. But bad numbers are bad numbers, and CNN is delivering a lot of bad numbers. 

A company spokesman told the New York Post that CNN viewers are the youngest of the Big Three and the most in the demo that advertisers covet. Most importantly, “the impact of CNN’s journalism and the reach of the brand cannot be measured by a single metric.” 

For his part, Zaslav told folks to perk up in a pep talk reported by the Post. 

“Ratings be damned,” Zaslav said. “Let’s focus on who we are. This is our mission. This is our legacy. And this is our journey together.”

But the journey Zaslav has taken CNN’s remaining viewership and staff on has been quite a rough one, with a deeply problematic potential legacy that may manifest for years to come.   

CNN lost hundreds of employees when Zaslav took over, in part because of his immediate closure of the newborn CNN Plus streaming service. WBD executives also closed CNN’s original-production division, which made documentaries, series and other projects. 

Those moves may have made sense given WBD’s crippling $55 billion in debt (now hacked to a still brutal $48 billion). But they don’t position CNN to thrive in a post-cable future. 

Subscription service CNN Plus was supposed to be the future as cable TV continued to shrivel. Whether a stand-alone niche service, particularly at the mammoth scale that launched CNN Plus, could reach sustainability is a reasonable question to ask. 

So, maybe something like CNN Plus won’t ever make sense as a replacement for the cable network. What then?

Will live CNN news programming join HBO Max, just as Discovery Plus content is doing, to create a somewhat undersized analogue for the traditional cable bundle? 

Live network news programming from NBC and CBS is already part of Peacock and Paramount Plus, respectively. Maybe that’s the next step, but will it generate the resources needed to sustain CNN operations, and at what subscription price? 

Similarly, the decision to ax CNN’s original production unit clearly saved money. But if Zaslav wants to generate more cash by selling programming to third-party outlets, it won’t be coming from CNN, whose documentaries, films and specials might otherwise continue to be attractive, award-winning, audience favorites. 

Great journalism is expensive, the opposite of evergreen, and sometimes dangerous, as demonstrated by this week’s seizure of The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by the Russian government for, basically, being an American reporter in wartime. 

But CNN matters. In its four decades of operation, the network has been an important source of reliable, in-the-moment coverage of major events in the U.S. and far beyond. It would be heartening to see Zaslav and Licht demonstrate a deeper appreciation for the public trust and irreplaceable asset they’ve been gifted to run, and to make sure it’s positioned to thrive for decades to come. ■

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav praised CNN and its president, Chris Licht, for deploying a more ideologically "balanced strategy," noting that "over 70 Republicans came on our air" in January during the cable news channel's coverage of the House GOP's chaotically protracted speaker election process. 

"We are already seeing a more inclusive range of voices and viewpoints, as demonstrated last month," Zaslav said during WBD's fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday. 

The comments were WBD's most declarative yet that it's following through on media mogul John Malone's desire for CNN appear "more centrist." 

The Liberty Media Chairman sits on the WBD board of directors. 

Licht, a former Late Show With Stephen Colbert CBS producer who took over the reins at CNN from Jeff Zucker a year ago, has overseen a range of cuts to high-profile on-air personalities as well as rank-and-file staff. 

But until Zaslav said it Thursday, no one at WBD or CNN had admitted to striking a more "both sides" tone. 

"Chris Licht and the team are focused on building an asset for the long term across cable and digital that is worthy of that great global brand," Zaslav added.