Discovery appoints Chris Licht as new head of CNN

Discovery has officially announced the hiring of Chris Licht, a longtime news executive and producer, to head CNN as its chairman and chief executive officer. 

Licht, a 20-year veteran of broadcast news, is the executive vice president of special programming at CBS. He has spearheaded programs like “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “CBS This Morning” as well as MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” during a previous stint with NBC Universal. 

News of Licht’s hiring was first reported by Puck News over the weekend and announced on Monday by Discovery, which is the process of a merger with WarnerMedia, CNN’s parent company. 

“I have known and admired Chris for more than 15 years and strongly believe he is the best person to lead CNN Global as part of Warner Bros. Discovery,” David Zaslav, incoming CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement. “Chris is a dynamic and creative producer, an engaging and thoughtful journalist, and a true news person. He has more than two decades of broadcast experience across local, cable and national news. He has been in the field, in the control room and on the set. He is a highly principled individual who is trusted, hard-working and makes every organization stronger, more innovative, and more cohesive.”

Licht will succeed former CNN President Jeff Zucker, who resigned earlier this month after revealing in a memo to staff he had been having a romantic relationship with another top-level staffer at the network that he did not disclose to the company’s human resources department. 

Zucker’s resignation came amid a controversy regarding allegations of unethical behavior and sexual misconduct surrounding Chris Cuomo when the former top anchor at CNN was at ABC News.

Cuomo has denied the allegations against him and pressed WarnerMedia to release more details of an internal investigation it said led to the conclusion that he, Zucker and the top staffer with whom CNN’s former president had a romantic relationship, had violated its ethics policies.

Discovery said it expects that Licht will start at CNN in early May, after Discovery’s acquisition of the cable news network is complete. He will report directly to Zaslav. 

“I’m honored to have this opportunity, especially at such an important time for our country and the world,’’ Licht said. “CNN has a rich and storied legacy and I both promise to uphold it and build upon it.”