CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker has resigned, effective immediately. In an email to CNN staff, Zucker said “as part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo's tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years. I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn't. I was wrong. As a result, I am resigning today."
Jason Kilar, the CEO of CNN’s parent company WarnerMedia, said, "I have accepted Jeff Zucker's resignation as Chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports, and President of CNN Worldwide. We thank Jeff for his contributions over the past 9 years." Kilar said “we will be announcing an interim leadership plan shortly.”
Zucker’s sudden exit comes at a uniquely pivotal moment for CNN, as the network prepares to debut its streaming service, CNN+, which has led the network to make a series of high-profile hires, including Chris Wallace, who joined from Fox News. CNN has been investing heavily in the platform, and work has been underway at the company’s studios at Hudson Yards in midtown Manhattan for a massive increase in production—as much as 12 additional hours of programming in New York alone.
The network—which at one point hinted at launching CNN+ in 2021—has not set an official launch date, saying only that it would debut “this spring.” It’s unclear how Zucker’s departure will impact that timing.
Zucker, a hands-on leader who would often be at work late into the evening, often showing up in the control room and taking an active role in the production of the network’s prime time shows, was presumably directly involved in addressing the 9 p.m. ET hour, once filled by Chris Cuomo, whose own exit left CNN without its highest-rated host in prime.
In January, CNN saw a 77% drop in year-over-year ratings in prime time, and an even more dramatic 81% drop among viewers 25-54, the demographic group most valued by advertisers. While 2021 was an historic year for viewership at all the cable news networks, the declines for CNN were the largest, and CNN trailed Fox News Channel and MSNBC at 9 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.
A year ago, Zucker said he would leave CNN when his contract expired at the end of 2021, saying at the time that “I do expect to move on.” At the time, many of CNN’s employees expressed concerns about the instability a Zucker exit would bring. As one unnamed CNN journalist told Vanity Fair, people at the network—particularly CNN’s journalists—“feel like he has their back, and I don’t know if anyone else can replicate that sense of support...in 40 years of CNN, the place has never been defined by its leader like it is right now. It’s like Roger Ailes without the sexual abuse and hush money.”
