CNN chief Christ Licht is out at the news network, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Wednesday.
Licht will be replaced by an interim leadership team comprising Amy Entelis, EVP of talent and content development, Virginia Moseley, EVP of editorial, and Eric Sherling, EVP of US programming. David Leavy, chief operating officer on the commercial side, will also lead in the interim, the company said.
"I have great respect for Chris, personally and professionally," David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a news release.
"The job of leading CNN was never going to be easy, especially at a time of huge disruption and transformation, and he has poured his heart and soul into it. While we know we have work to do as we look to identify a new leader, we have absolute confidence in the team we have in place and will continue to fight for CNN and its world class journalism," he added.
Licht previously served as the executive producer of Stephen Colbert's late night show before taking over as chairman and CEO of CNN in May 2022. He replaced longtime network president Jeff Zucker, who resigned from his position after failing to disclose a consensual romantic relationship with a colleague.
To compare, MSNBC saw ratings increase 14% compared to May 2022 while Fox News dropped 37% over that same time period.
Most recently, a scathing profile in "The Atlantic" documented his missteps. Licht apologized to employees Monday morning, saying, "I should not be in the news."
Warner Bros. Discovery stock is up about 25% year-to-date. Shares were little changed on the heels of the Licht news.
Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com
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