DAVID LEAVY TAPPED AS COO OF CNN

Warner Bros. Discovery is turning to a veteran of the company to help bolster CNN’s leadership team.

On Thursday the company announced that David Leavy, currently WBD’s chief corporate affairs officer, will become COO of the news brand, reporting to CNN CEO Chris Licht.

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Leavy is a 23-year veteran of Discovery Inc., having been one of CEO David Zaslav’s top deputies during his entire run as CEO, overseeing corporate operations.

In his new role at CNN, Leavy will oversee commercial, operational and promotional activities. He will also continue to oversee and maintain public policy and social responsibility for WBD going forward, in addition to his CNN duties.

With his new role, Licht will presumably spend more of his time overseeing CNN’s programming, talent development, and journalism.

“David’s deep operational experience, institutional knowledge and key industry relationships perfectly complements the strengths of our leadership team,” said Licht in a statement. “He is a strategic, versatile and dynamic executive who will work with myself and the senior leadership team to help transform our business as we get the full programming slate on the air, build out our digital future and grow the CNN brand around the world. Everyone who works with David has seen how his energy, work ethic and collaborative style positively impacts an organization, and I can’t wait for him to join me and the CNN team.”

The addition of Leavy puts a veteran Zaslav deputy in a critical role at the cable news channel, underscoring its significance to the parent company’s portfolio. Leavy worked in politics before joining Discovery, including working as chief spokesman for the National Security Council in the Clinton administration.

It also comes at a critical moment for CNN, which has seen its linear TV ratings continue to decline. Licht has been undertaking an effort to transform CNN’s programming to return to a vision where the news is the star.

Licht’s first major effort, a new morning show, hit early headwinds in the ratings, and saw co-anchor Don Lemon ousted from the company after just a few months. But Licht has also debuted a new format for CNN’s dayside hours, and will move Kaitlan Collins to 9 PM later this month.

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2023-06-01T13:27:21Z dg43tfdfdgfd