Hosts, Anchors Face Uncertain Times At CNN

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper reportedly earns $18 million annually, a hefty salary that may face scrutiny as the struggling network prepares for a spinoff from its debt-burdened parent, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). 

Cooper, the primetime host of Anderson Cooper 360 at 8 p.m., along with anchors like Kaitlan Collins and Jake Tapper, faces an uncertain future following WBD CEO David Zaslav’s Monday announcement of the split, per Puck newsletter.

Zaslav appointed WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels to lead CNN and other cable properties like TNT, TBS, and HGTV under a new entity, Global Networks. A source told The Post that CNN staff fear Wiedenfels’ cost-cutting reputation, describing him as a “slash and burn” executive.

Puck’s Dylan Byers highlighted Cooper’s $18 million salary as a potential target, noting CNN’s last-place ratings. Byers questioned why Wiedenfels would pay Cooper that sum when Collins, earning roughly a fifth as much, draws comparable viewership. Nielsen data shows Anderson Cooper 360 had 647,000 viewers on Tuesday—about $27 per viewer—while Collins’ 9 p.m. show The Source drew 829,000.

Cooper’s exact salary remains unconfirmed, though The Post previously estimated it at up to $20 million. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment on his pay but strongly denied Byers’ claim of looming drastic salary cuts, calling it “a complete fabrication.”

Cooper, a CNN veteran since 2001, may not stay for the expected restructuring, with Byers suggesting he might tire of reading news to under a million viewers nightly. CNN, once a cable news leader, has seen ratings plummet to historic lows, often dwarfed by Fox News, a News Corp sister company to The Post’s parent, during major events.