CNN is making major changes to its weekday morning programming as part of the latest shakeup at the cable news giant.
“CNN This Morning,” the network’s current morning show hosted by Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly, will be canceled while the network holds discussions with the two anchors about new roles at at the company.
Political pundit and host Kasie Hunt will anchor an additional early morning hour, broadcasting from 5-7 a.m. beginning later this month.
At 7 a.m., a new version of “CNN News Central” will be hosted by John Berman, Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner, running through 10 a.m.
Former White House correspondent Jim Acosta will host a show at 10 a.m., while the 11 a.m. hour will be home to “The Bulletin with Pamela Brown,” which will launch in the spring, once Brown returns from parental leave.
The major shakeup of the CNN’s morning lineup marks the most sweeping change implemented by new CEO Mark Thompson, who took over as the company’s leader in August.
Thompson replaced former CEO Chris Licht, who launched “CNN This Morning” and made other major changes to the network’s prime-time lineup and editorial strategy before being fired by CNN’s parent company last summer.
No changes are expected to be made to CNN’s prime-time lineup, Thompson wrote in a note to employees in which he encouraged staff members affected by the changes “to apply for the many new open roles that we are making available this week.”
“I’m very aware that today’s announcement means a great deal of uncertainty for many valued colleagues,” Thompson said. “Change and uncertainty are inevitable in an industry undergoing a revolution, but we must never underestimate the human consequences that come in their wake.”