CNN Stars Kaitlan Collins and Abby Phillip Being 'Seen Across the Industry as an Irreparable Failure'
March 2 2024, Published 11:15 a.m. ET
CNN's strategy of building and marketing around new hosts such as Kaitlan Collins and Abby Phillip is proving to be much more challenging than the heads of the network expected, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Kaitlan Collins and Maggie Haberman believe Musk could still give to a super PAC.
According to Puck News, CNN's primetime lineup of Collins and Phillip are considered "uncomfortable anchors" who are increasingly seen across the industry as an "irreparable failure."
The ratings for the network's hosts have failed to meet expectations, losing to MSNBC for 23 months straight and coming nowhere near the numbers Fox News is getting in their time slots.
One high-level talent agent was reportedly overheard referring to Abby as “Ambien Phillip.”
Abby Phillip was referred to as 'Ambien Phillip' by a high-level talent agent.
According to Nielson ratings data, Collins' show, The Source with Kaitlan Collins, drew 540,000 total viewers and 83,000 in the advertiser-coveted 25 to 54-year-old demographic.
That marked a significant 13% dip in total viewers for the same time last year and a 44% decline for viewers aged 25 to 54 — the lowest for a 9 p.m. news show on Monday.
CNN has failed to perform in primetime at the level of MSNBC and Fox News.
The President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, attempted to restore the network’s reputation as a "dispassionate, middle-of-the-road news service" by reportedly cutting staff and "clearing the plate" of a few righteous anti-Trump figures along the way, which supposedly backfired under Chris Licht’s leadership.
Realizing the network was facing more existential challenges amid cable’s noticeable decline, Zazlav entrusted the very experienced chairman and C.E.O Mark Thompson to transform the network's business model in the direction of digital and streaming, all while preserving the semi-centrist posture with a more delicate touch.
According to the insider, from June 5 to June 30, Collins averaged 702,000 total viewers and 152,000 viewers in the targeted demographic.
The network averaged 481,000 viewers with a rotating cast of anchors at 9 p.m. during the first quarter of 2023.
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After failing to identify a successful host to fill the long-vacant 9 p.m. hour, Licht instead hatched a plan to turn the primetime time slot into something resembling a variety show featuring a town hall one night, a single-issue special report the next and an old documentary the next.
This was considered a radical and perplexing departure from the primetime news strategy of using a consistent nightly anchor or host for viewers to latch onto, like how their competitors had Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow.
One media executive told Puck News it was a “profound misunderstanding of how cable works in primetime” and warned that CNN’s ratings would decline even more. “No marquee value; no continuity or predictability, which are essential ingredients in television.”
