CNN This Morning has been scrapped just 18 months after the show started following poor ratings and the departures of two of its hosts.
The program was axed following a series of upheavals including the dramatic firing of host Don Lemon last year, and the switch of another host Kaitlan Collins to her own sbow, according to Page Six.
CNN This Morning was plugged as a show which would provide viewers with ‘accuracy’ and ‘context’ on news stories across America when it was launched in November 2022.
But it was marred by scandals including the firing of controversial host Lemon after he made a string of sexist slurs on air and insulted an alleged rape victim during an interview.
The dramatic departure came amid rising tensions between Lemon and his co-host at the time Collins, after he allegedly reduced her to tears by ‘screaming’ at her in front of the television crew and the third host Poppy Harlow.
CNN This Morning has been scrapped just 18 months after the show started following poor ratings and the departures of two of its hosts, Don Lemon (pictured center) and Kaitlan Collins (pictured right)
Sources told the New York Post that Lemon, 57, exploded at Collins, 31, on December 8 2022, accusing her of interrupting him several times while on air. Collins allegedly ran off the set in tears.
Collins also left the show in Spring 2023 to take over the network’s prized 9pm timeslot left vacant by Chris Cuomo’s high-profile sacking, leaving Harlow as the only member of the original trio left standing.
Now, the current hosts – Harlow and Phil Mattingly – will come off the air, according to Page Six.
It comes as thousands of CNN viewers are abandoning the network during its attempted turnaround by recently departed CEO Chris Licht.
Cable news ratings are down across the board compared to 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominated the news, but CNN’s dip is the most dramatic – with a 61 percent plummet in primetime views recorded in March 2023.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.