CNN revamps schedule, with new roles for Phillip, Coates, Wallace and Amanpour
CNN is making dramatic changes to its lineup, with new roles for Abby Phillip, Laura Coates and news veterans Christiane Amanpour and Chris Wallace
NEW YORK — CNN is emphasizing homegrown stars and reporting chops in a schedule reboot that gives weeknight shows to Abby Phillip and Laura Coates, along with bringing Christiane Amanpour back onto the domestic network regularly.
Virtually no part of the day or weekend goes unchanged in the plans announced on Monday, the first major move by the leadership quartet that replaced ousted network chief Chris Licht on June 1.
Phillip, a political reporter, and Coates, the network's chief legal correspondent, both began at CNN in part-time roles. Soon they'll have back-to-back hours on the network's schedule each weeknight starting at 10 p.m. Eastern.
They'll join Kaitlan Collins at 9 p.m. and Erin Burnett two hours earlier, with Anderson Cooper the only man in the important five-hour stretch that includes prime time. Since Chris Cuomo was fired in December 2021, CNN hasn't had a regular prime-time lineup, and its new leaders considered it a top priority to project consistence to viewers and employees.
CNN's leadership team of Amy Entelis, David Leavy, Virginia Moseley and Eric Sherling also wanted to install program hosts with experience as reporters.
“They are extraordinarily talented and share the same CNN sensibility: versatility, determination and an inquisitive and empathetic approach to reporting the news,” the leaders said in a statement.
CNN has struggled with ratings challenges worsened by the quickening pulse of people cutting the cord on cable television. In July, Fox News Channel and MSNBC — both dominated by opinion programming in the evening — averaged 1.57 million
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