CNN Locks-In Three Primetime Hosts

Cooper Collins, Phillip

CNN has locked in its primetime lineup by signing Abby Phillip to a new multiyear deal, ensuring anchors Anderson Cooper, Kaitlan Collins and Phillip remain in place ahead of Paramount Skydance’s planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. 

The agreement, reported by Variety’s Brian Steinberg on Monday, keeps Phillip as host of the 10 p.m. ET roundtable program NewsNight. Cooper anchors the 8 p.m. hour and renewed his contract last year, while Collins hosts The Source at 9 p.m. under a deal with several years remaining. 

Phillip was the final member of the trio to re-up, according to three people familiar with the matter. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment on talent contracts. 

The renewals appear to have occurred as individual deals came up rather than as a coordinated effort to constrain a potential new owner. Still, the contracts give the anchors financial guarantees if programming changes occur, requiring Paramount to negotiate further if it seeks major shifts in CNN’s evening schedule. 

Paramount Skydance has agreed to a multi-billion-dollar purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns CNN. The deals leave the network’s core primetime faces intact for the foreseeable future, including as the midterm elections approach—a period that typically boosts news viewership. Beyond their main shows, the anchors hold additional roles. 

Cooper hosts the Sunday newsmagazine The Whole Story and a podcast on grief. Collins also serves as CNN’s chief White House correspondent. Phillip hosts the Saturday-morning roundtable Table for Five and the digital series Confessions and Obsessions. She joined CNN in 2017. The contracts provide continuity at a moment of corporate transition, though networks retain flexibility to reassign talent when desired.