CNN Unveils A Revamped Programming Lineup
Issue #131 — CNN's new interim management team has moved quickly to shake-up the network's programming as it seeks to further distance itself from the previous regime.
CNN Unveils A Revamped Programming Lineup
Not to beat a dead horse, but former CNN head Chris Licht had many missteps during his brief tenure as Chairman and CEO of the news network, with one of them being the slow rollout of a revamped programming, in particular the 9 pm ET hole that had been left since Chris Cuomo’s departure in 2021.
Seeking to show that they are nothing like the Licht era, CNN’s interim management, which has been given the authority to run the network as they see fit until after the 2024 elections, unveiled a revamped programming lineup this past Monday that plugs major holes in primetime and in the morning.
Lineup changes were made across CNN domestic’s morning, dayside, primetime, and weekend programming schedules. Primetime saw the most significant change as it will be female-centric, with Abby Philip and Laura Coates anchoring their own shows and joining a schedule that consists of Erin Burnett at 7 pm ET, Anderson Cooper at 8 pm ET, and Kaitlan Collins at 9 pm ET.
Philip and Coates will be anchoring shows at 10 pm ET and 11 pm ET, respectively.
Moves were also made in the morning, with Kasie Hunt anchoring a now-hour version of Early Start and Phil Mattingly officially named Poppy Harlow’s co-anchor on CNN This Morning. Mattingly had been filing on the morning show for some time now, so this move makes what had already transpired official.
Pamela Brown gets an afternoon show, as she will anchor from Washington, D.C., from 3-4 pm ET. Her new show eats an hour out of the afternoon edition of CNN News Central, which now becomes a two-hour news program, while the morning edition remains a three-hour program.
The weekend also gets some changes as Victor Blackwell will solo anchor the 8 am ET hour with a show that brings a fresh perspective on the week’s news, with a particular focus on stories affecting communities of color that impact us all.
Chris Wallace and Christiane Amanpour will also host shows at 10 am ET and 11 am ET on Saturday. Wallace’s new show, which is in addition to Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?, features a fast-paced, provocative panel of some of the country’s best reporters and influential commentators to make sense of breaking news, the latest developments in the 2024 presidential race, and set the agenda for what’s next.
Meanwhile, Amanpour will bring her perspective and experience as CNN’s chief international anchor to global and U.S. stories, delivering the world to CNN viewers.
Finally, Manu Raju will inherit Abby Philips's former Sunday morning show Inside Politics.
The one person who has ended up being the odd person out of all this is Alisyn Camerota, who loses her weeknight anchoring duties and is relegated to reporting for CNN’s long-form unit, specifically on forthcoming episodes for The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper.
“By expanding the range and depth of our programming lineup across multiple dayparts, we are strengthening our reporting excellence throughout the schedule, elevating our ability to tell great stories across platforms, and doubling down on CNN’s position as the most trusted name in news,” said CNN Worldwide’s leadership team, Amy Entelis, David Leavy, Virginia Moseley, and Eric Sherling.
In addition to tinkering with the lower third graphics package, this management team has unveiled a new lineup that also addressed a key weakness affecting CNN’s lineup as it is currently constituted: diversity. Not only will CNN’s primetime lineup be female-centric, but it will also feature two Black women.
These are positive steps for a network that needs to find its mojo after a tumultuous two years.
(CNN Press Room, NewscastStudio)
RECAP
Sage Steele Departs From ESPN
It was presented as a life update, “Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely. I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!” With that message, Sage Steele’s over 15-year tenure as an ESPN anchor came to a sudden and unceremonious end. Her departure, though, was not surprising as Steele, as a result of her controversial comments she made in 2021 concerning Covid vaccine mandates issued by her employer and her subsequent suing of her network and Disney because she was suspended from the network, steered the SportsCenter anchor towards this expected outcome. While the case was ongoing, Steele continued to perform her duties, but it was clear that she would not be a long-term fixture at the network. (Sage Steele/X, TVNewser)
More Streaming Content Is Consumed Than Linear TV
Linear TV continues to have an agonizing decline as its market share, which comprises broadcast and cable TV when it comes to viewing consumption, fell below 50%. In contrast, streaming’s share continues to rise. According to Nielsen, the July 2023 figures for viewing share showed broadcast TV and cable fell to 20% and 29.6%, respectively, while streaming stood at 38.7%. This contrasts with the June figures, which showed broadcast with a 20.8% share, 30.6% for cable, and 37.7% for streaming. YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu lead the pack amongst the streaming ranked with 9.2%, 8.5%, and 3.6%, respectively. Cord-cutting seems to damage cable TV’s outlook further, while the broadcast TV channels seem to have just given up the fight for quality shows and have resorted to more reality programming, game shows, and a hope that live sports can keep bailing them out. (Nielsen, TV Grim Reaper/X)
Could Apple Make A Play For ESPN
With its entry to live sports via the MLS, could Apple's appetite for more live sports content grow, whereby it eventually makes a run at purchasing ESPN? The technology giant with a cash war chest in the trillions was seen as an obvious purchaser of the “World Wide Leader in Sports” by Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, who said it was a “no-brainer.” Ives believes that such a purchase by Apple would strengthen its streaming service AppleTV Plus. “Cupertino is looking to go after live sports content as the golden goose. I believe it’s a matter of when — not if — ESPN and Apple get together,” Ives added. By purchasing ESPN, Apple acquires a network with a lot of live sporting content as it has the rights to various pro and college leagues and other key sporting events. All this, for now, is healthy speculation for a tech company with a streaming service that is still viewed as niche but has the money to make whatever play it sees fit, including going after a legacy network. (Front Office Sports, Yahoo! Finance)
QUICK RECAP
1st GOP Presidential Debate: Fox News is pressing on with or without Trump. (The Wall Street Journal)
1st GOP Presidential Debate: Donald Trump does not plan to attend the Fox News debate. (The New York Times)
1st GOP Presidential Debate: Programming surrounding the debate released by Fox News. (TVNewser)
1st GOP Presidential Debate: Fox News’ Martha MacCallum on what to expect during the debate. (Vanity Fair)
1st GOP Presidential Debate: Fox News moderators are ready for a Trump-less debate. (Los Angeles Times)
1st GOP Presidential Debate: How Fox News is preparing for a debate without Donald Trump. (The Wrap)
FS1 becomes 10: what do the next 10 years foretell for the network? (Awful Announcing)
FS1 becomes 10: The 10 people who defined the network’s first decade. (Awful Announcing)
FS1 becomes 10: Where are the launch stars now? (Awful Announcing)
FS1 becomes 10: Watch the debut episode of Fox Sports Live. (Awful Announcing)
Awards: ABC News, CBS News, CNN, and NBC News won the Radio Television Digital News Association's Edward R. Murrow Awards. (TVNewser)
Awards: CBS News and PBS Frontline are finalists for the 2023 Gerald Loeb Award. (PR Newswire)
Profile: ABC News’ Stephanie Ramos was featured in 201 Magazine. (201 Magazine)
Ratings: MSNBC scores huge ratings during Donald Trump’s fourth indictment. (The Wrap)
Wendy McMahon, named CEO of CBS News and Stations, and Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews, named CBS News president after Neeraj Khemlani’s departure. (Paramount Press Express and CBS News)
New co-anchors named for Telemundo's midday newscast. (TVNewser)
NBC News’ Gabe Gutierrez promoted to senior White House correspondent. (Deadline)
Tom Bamako and Shalini Sharma promoted at NBC News. (TVNewser)
Selina Wang jumps from CNN to ABC News as senior White House correspondent. Rachael Bade and Asma Khalid join as contributors. (ABC News Public Relations)
Angelica Peebles moves from Bloomberg to CNBC as a health and pharmaceutical reporter. (TVNewser)
Shannon Sharpe to join Steven A. Smith twice a week on ESPN's First Take. (New York Posts)
CNN's Chloe Melas moves to NBC News as an entertainment reporter. (TVNewser)
Saima Mohsin’s case against CNN can move to U.K. Employment Tribunal. (Deadline)
MSNBC's Alex Wagner Tonight celebrates its first anniversary. (TVNewser)ESPN announces new NBA broadcast and studio teams. (ESPN Press Room)
Weekday syndicated version of 48 Hour launches Monday, September 11. (TVNewser)
What are ESPN's strategic partnership options? (Awful Announcing)
ESPN has held partnership talks with Verizon. (The Information)
Former ESPNer Michael Smith on life after leaving the sports network. (Front Office Sports)
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon says he feels “vindicated” after Chris Licht’s exit. (The Daily Beast)
NFL's Sunday Ticket to have multi-view, key plays on YouTube TV. (Awful Announcing)
Fox News has regained viewers after the loss of Tucker Carlson. (The Washington Post)
The elephant in the room obscures ESPN's recent NBA appointments. (Chicago Sun-Times)
Track and field docuseries heads to Netflix. (Awful Announcing)
Netflix ends DVD rental service on Sept. 29 and is giving away DVDs. (Collider)
Regular season NBA game schedules are released by ESPN/ABC, WBD Bros. Discovery, and NBA TV. (ESPN Press Room and Warner Bros. Discovery Pressroom)
NBA In-Season Tournament schedule released. (NBA Communications)
Big ratings in Australia for the England vs. Australia FIFA Women’s World Cup game. (Awful Announcing)
ESPN's Pat McAfee Show to debut on Thursday, September 7. (Pat McAfee/X)
ESPN's President of Content, Burke Magnus, on the many changes happening at the network. (The Athletic)
The NBA Finals are a “must-have” for ESPN. (Sports Media Watch)
Sinclair ‘milked’ $1.5 billion out of Bally Sports suit alleges. (NextTV)
Has streaming become too expensive for your wallet? (The Wall Street Journal)
Why is it important for news anchors to go out and report from disaster areas? (Poynter)
Not everyone at FS1 is happy with the moves being made at Undisputed. (Front Office Sports)
How Fox works to keep Fox News on the air. (The Guardian)
Vice News blocks stories that could offend Saudi Arabia. (The Guardian)
Former ESPNer Matthew Berry raises $2 million for fantasy media company. (Sportico)
Streaming service iStreamPlanet was shut down by Warner. Bros Discovery. (Cord Cutters News)
Newsmax staffers not happy with the job offer to Ed Henry. (Mediaite)
Disney Plus with ads to launch in more territories. (Coming Soon.Net)
Fox News’ Dana Perino to launch 2024 Election podcast. (Variety)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #131 - 2023