CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s prime-time show, CNN Tonight with Jake Tapper, will not be allowed to continue after the week of the midterm elections amid low ratings.
The cable news network says Tapper will move back to his afternoon slot, hosting The Lead, while his nighttime replacement will be announced in the coming days.
ANOTHER FLOUNDERING TURNOUT FOR CNN WITH JAKE TAPPER’S PRIMETIME SHOW DEBUT
“As part of a special lineup, Jake agreed to anchor the 9p hour through the midterm elections. At the completion of that schedule, he’ll be returning to his award-winning program The Lead. We will announce post-election plans for that time slot in the coming days,” a CNN spokesman told Semafor.
Media observers widely believed that the prominent journalist was being slated for a starring evening role with the network, permanently taking up the spot held by Chris Cuomo, who was fired last year, according to the Daily Beast. However, the situation was up in the air, as the network has only previously announced plans for Tapper to be in the prime-time slot up until Nov. 11 while some of his colleagues took his place in the afternoon. Tapper is also co-host of CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday mornings.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
During his time in the evening hour, Tapper boasted some high-profile guests, including President Joe Biden. However, Tapper’s prime-time show was not a ratings winner, failing to be competitive with rivals on the other cable news networks.
Tapper told his guest on Wednesday, comedian Jimmy Kimmel, that his prime-time show “was always a short-term thing” and is returning to the 4 p.m. hour “because of my family,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.
