CNN is shaking up its TV schedule yet again as the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed outlet grapples with significant declines in audience and a need to control costs in an era when more viewers are migrating to streaming media.
Under a series of changes unveiled Thursday, Audie Cornish, the former NPR host will take over the 6 a.m. “CNN This Morning,” while Rahel Solomon will lead a new 5 a.m. concept called “5 Things.” Jake Tapper‘s late-day program will move to a two hour slot between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., setting up audiences for the primetime lineup, and Kasie Hunt will move from mornings to a 4 p.m. program called “The Arena.”
Wolf Blitzer will move out of the early evening slot he had held for years, paired instead with Pamela Brown at 10 a.m. CNN did not specify a new role for Jim Acosta, the no-nonsense anchor who has distinguished himself as a White House correspondent and on air with a lean-forward questioning style.
The changes are slated to go into effect in March.
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CNN’s ratings have eroded steadily during a tumultuous era, with multiple rounds of top executives unable to devise programing themes and concepts that bring new viewers to the network. Both Fox News and MSNBC are generating bigger overall audiences at moments of critical national news — once a type of programming that brought larger audiences to CNN. In January through the 21st, CNN’s overall primetime viewership is down 13% year over year, according to data from Nielsen, while primetime audiences between 25 and 54 — the demographic coveted most by advertisers — fell 3%.
The personnel moves were disclosed Thursday in a memo from Eric Sherling, CNN’s executive vice president of programming. CNN’s ratings have suffered for months under parent corporation Warner Bros. Discovery, and a series of new concepts and anchor moves have not borne fruit and caused several prominent on-air personnel to leave the network.
The manuevers will create drama off camera as well, with Sherling noting that many jobs are likely to be affected by a move of production jobs. “In the mornings and afternoons, staffing in Atlanta and Washington will change to support our new lineup. In the evenings, the way we produce our primetime shows will change,” Sherling said in a memo. “While most NY-based teams will remain at Hudson Yards, many control room positions, both editorial and operational, will move to Atlanta and Washington to make our operations more cost-efficient.”
He noted that programming staff “is also being reduced to bring expenses in line with declining advertising and distribution revenues.” Teams devoted to CNN’s annual “Heroes” show and its special projects “will combine to form one unit focused on producing sponsored content.”
CNN CEO Mark Thompson earlier Thursday detailed plans to cut 6% of the current staff, hoping to add new employees to aid a host of initiatives aimed at bolstering digital media. CNN plans to launch a subscription-based streaming option that allows users to gain access to its programming without using Max, Warner’s main broadband product.
More to come…