Brian Stelter, the longtime host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” Sunday flagship show, may be fired from the network in “weeks if not days” according to a new report, perhaps due to his show’s low ratings and rumors he is leaking unflattering information about the network to its competitors.
With CNN’s new management reportedly ready to cut its longtime hosts in a bid to steer away from the hyper partisan nature of the network, Stelter may be first high profile exit from the network, according to News Cycle Media President John Nicosia, who reported this week that Stelter’s time at the network is “down to weeks if not days” because he “reminds the new owners of the Zucker era they desperately want to get past.”
SOURCE: Stelter is "down to weeks if not days" left at CNN. They go on "He is everything that reminds the new owners of the Zucker era they desperately want to get past" – More to come.
— Jon Nicosia (@NewsPolitics) June 15, 2022
Chris Licht, the network’s new head, is apparently “ready to boot on-air personalities who have destroyed the brand by becoming irredeemable partisan hacks,” Breitbart News reported.
CNN’s new management already made headlines earlier this year after it canned the cable news network’s streaming platform, CNN+, after only one month.
Stelter’s rumored loyalty to ex-CNN leader Jeff Zucker may not be the only reason for his departure.
His show is currently seeing its worst ratings since 2019, reaching only 73,000 viewers in the coveted 25-to-54 demographic, and 580,000 total in his most recent episode, reported the New York Post. Fox News’ competing “MediaBuzz” program, which airs in the same time slot, reached 1.4 million total viewers and 189,000 in the 25-54 demographic.
This marks a sharp change from Stelter’s future at the network under Zucker’s tenure. Under Zucker, he was slated to begin a daily version of “Reliable Sources” for CNN+.
While the network’s new owners made room for some of the talent signed to CNN+ – Chris Wallace’s show will be available on HBO Max – Stelter does not appear to have been offered another gig.
