CNN foregoes filling prime time left open after Chris Cuomo was fired to fill with interviews

CNN has decided to drop plans entirely to fill its weekday 9:00 p.m.

Instead, the network will present a variety of programming including a variety of special reports, all under the banner: ‘CNN Primetime’ in a shift towards ‘news not names’.

Such content could include one-on-one interviews with newsmakers, town halls putting government officials in direct contact with people affected by political decisions, and other “scoops,” the network said.

The move is something of a departure for CNN from having a single anchor on a regular schedule, such as on rivals MSNBC where Rachel Maddow hosts or on Fox News where Sean Hannity rules at that hour.

CNN’s new approach is part of a larger effort by its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, to position the network as “the place for factual information and thoughtful discourse,” CEO David Zaslav told investors. last week.

CNN’s challenge comes with the knowledge that traditional, direct news programming has generally not generated the audience numbers needed to beat out its competitors, which rely heavily on personality- and opinion-led programming.

For 25 years at CNN, the network’s 9 p.m. slot was home to Larry King and his legendary show Larry King Live from 1985 to 2010.

Piers Morgan then took over with his show Piers Morgan Live, but it was shelved in 2014 after just three years of being routinely beaten in the ratings by cable competitors.

Former CNN chief Jeff Zucker then gave the time to correspondent Chris Cuomo, whose brash style proved a winning formula in attracting some of the network’s largest audiences.

Cuomo was then ousted from the struggling network in 2021 for his role advising his brother, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo, while battling a sexual misconduct scandal.

It was revealed that Chris used his media connections and contacts to verify ongoing stories about his brother and trafficked the information back to the Governor’s agents.

Since Cuomo’s departure, CNN has rotated various staff members in the space, including hosts like Jake Tapper and Michael Smerconish.

Cuomo, who is now behind a desk, revealed earlier this month how he thought of “killing (killing) everyone, including me,” after his ouster from the struggling network.

Cuomo shared his struggle in ‘Open Book with Anthony Scaramucci‘, the podcast hosted by the former White House communications director whose tenure at the podium lasted a week and a half.

‘I had to accept [the CNN termination] because I was going to kill everyone, including myself. Things can consume you,’ he said.

Cuomo said he “makes a lot of mistakes” and began seeing a therapist after being “criticized” by CNN higher-ups.

“There is damage that is identifiable, there is damage that is not identifiable to the people that I have to deal with, that I am working with,” he said.

Despite Cuomo telling Scaramucci that he’s working on himself, his temper is still reportedly in command at his new NewsNation gig, in which he has far fewer eyes on him than on CNN.

“Cuomo,” the name of his show, draws fewer than 100,000 viewers a night, according to the New York Post. Less than a tenth of his audience of a million on CNN.

He said that although he wasn’t “the big name” on CNN, his show did well “because it was giving people what they needed at the time.”

Now, however, he said he is aware that his audience is “small” and “people don’t want to watch.”

“It’s hard to keep perspective on that because it’s a bit embarrassing,” he told Scaramucci. ‘I will never be [number 1] again.’

‘I believe that this was taken, I mistakenly believe. I’m going to litigate that. I’m not going to complain about it in the press,’ she said.

The younger Cuomo is suing CNN for more than $60 million for his abrupt firing. He is also believed to be in litigation with HarperCollins, the publisher of his book, Deep Denial, which was canceled after his firing.

CNN has made a number of changes since new chief Chris Licht took over.

When Licht took over as the network’s president and CEO in May 2022, he said he did not anticipate any layoffs, but that story changed in October when he told employees that some cost-cutting measures would be taken that would result in a series of turnovers and layoffs.

In December, the network laid off hundreds of staff, including on-air talent and contributors like Brian Stelter, John Harwood, Preet Bharara, Dan Merica, Alison Kosik, and Chris Cillizza.

Licht described at a town hall meeting that “this is an organization that has taken hit after hit,” adding that “most organizations would not have survived.”

Rising inflation, declining advertising revenue, falling cable news ratings and investor concerns about the economic outlook have been some of the reasons CNN has had to implement some draconian methods.