Overview
- Abby Phillip signed a new multi-year contract to stay at CNN, a move reported this week that completes the network’s current primetime trio under long-term deals.
- Anderson Cooper renewed his agreement last year and Kaitlan Collins still has several years left on her deal, leaving all three nightly hosts contractually committed to the network.
- The talent contracts include guarantees on pay if anchors are moved or reassigned, which can make a rapid, owner-driven primetime overhaul more expensive to execute.
- The proposed Paramount Skydance purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery cleared a Justice Department review but is blocked by a lawsuit from California and 11 other states that prevents the deal from closing until the courts act or until June 1, 2027.
- CNN staffers have voiced unease about how new management might run the network, citing the hiring of Bari Weiss at CBS News as a precedent, and CNN declined to comment on individual talent contracts.