According to various sources, the executive producer for “CNN This Morning” has been fired, barely months after the new morning show debuted.
CNN President Chris Licht’s senior deputy, Ryan Kadro, informed colleagues of the decision during a Thursday meeting, according to The Wrap, citing a network insider with knowledge of the incident.
Eric Hall was relocated from his position as executive producer of “CNN This Morning” to a new position in the 11 p.m. hour of “CNN Tonight.”
According to a separate story from Deadline, executives have yet to announce Hall’s replacement on “CNN This Morning” following the sudden shakeup.
It is unclear what drove Licht to make the change, but the move is part of CNN’s leadership’s effort to raise ratings for the network’s long-lagging morning programming.
Since assuming the role of CNN’s president a year ago, Licht has prioritized a revamped morning lineup. He has also led an aggressive drive for non-partisan, centrist news.
Don Lemon, Kaitlan Collins, and Poppy Harlow served as co-anchors of “CNN This Morning” when it premiered on November 1, right before the midterm elections. Lemon joins the cast after being removed from his primetime position.
According to Nielsen data, the redesigned morning show has averaging roughly 400,000 views per day. Comparatively, its predecessor in the same time slot, “New Day,” had an average of approximately 412,000 viewers.
“Fox & Friends” on Fox News averages 1.33 million viewers, while “Morning Joe” on MSNBC averages 905,000.
The light-driven CNN is also struggling in primetime, when viewership hit a new low on Monday due to competition with the NFL wildcard playoff game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys.
Fox News averaged more than 2 million viewers per night, while CNN attracted an average of 311,000.
Licht is allegedly contemplating adding a late-night comic to CNN’s 9 p.m. hour, which has been without a permanent anchor since Chris Cuomo was fired in late 2021.
Last year, CNN’s primetime ratings declined 33% to 730,000 viewers.
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