NEWSWolf Blitzer Moves to Morning News in Massive CNN Shake-Up as Ratings Continue to Plummet
Wolf Blitzer will move to cover the morning news.
CNN's veteran anchor Wolf Blitzer is making the move to morning news as the network plans to shuffle its line-up to help boost ratings.
Blitzer is one of the network's longest-tenured anchors and current host of The Situation Room at 6 p.m. However, according to sources from inside the network, he will now team up with Pamela Brown on a new morning show. The reported change means the 76-year-old anchor's screen time will increase by an hour each day.
Wolf Blitzer has worked for CNN for decades.
The cable news channel's boss, Mark Thompson, is also rumored to be moving frequent Donald Trump antagonist Jim Acosta to anchor CNN Newsroom at 10 a.m.
Pre-dawn anchor Kasie Hunt is also rumored to be moving to the afternoons.
Thompson was brought in from the BBC and New York Times by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to help course-correct CNN.
Wolf Blitzer is 76-years-old.
According to former CNN media analyst Oliver Darcy, the rearranging of the anchor chairs is part of Thompson’s plan to pave the way for a new generation of on-air talent.
The decision to shift Blitzer, who was recently mocked on social media for his outdated television setup, allows CNN to keep one of its most respected anchors on air while also gradually transitioning him out of the evening lineup.
One scenario being considered is moving Hunt, the former MSNBC anchor and Associated Press scribe, from early mornings to 4 p.m. Hunt, who currently pulls an estimated salary north of $1 million per year, hosts CNN This Morning, which airs daily from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.
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Wolf Blitzer will be adding an extra hour to his coverage.
According to Status, if CNN moves forward with moving Hunt to 4 p.m., the network would reportedly shift Jake Tapper’s show The Lead to a 5 p.m.-to-7 p.m. block, placing him closer to prime time.
One possible new morning show being floated is a split-hour arrangement, with business correspondent Rahel Solomon anchoring 5 a.m. and former NPR host Audie Cornish handling 6 a.m.
To accommodate Blitzer and Brown’s two-hour morning program, CNN needs to find an additional hour in its schedule. One potential casualty being reportedly floated around is Acosta’s show.
CNN is shaking up their line-up.
CNN’s ratings have dipped significantly following Trump’s 2024 presidential election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
In 2024, the network averaged 92,000 viewers in the key 25-to-54-year-old demographic, marking a 1% drop from the previous year’s low and 77,000 during primetime, a 52% dip from just a year ago. The news channel's total primetime viewership fell by 45% to 405,000 viewers.
Fox News has gone on to capture 72% of primetime cable news viewership, with a 7% increase since election night.
