CNBC has stopped airing "The News with Shepard Smith" in order to focus on business and market coverage.
In an e-mail, CNBC announced the news. A person familiar with the matter says that Smith will leave the network later this month. Smith's prime time show will be replaced by markets coverage until a new live show focusing on business news is launched in 2023.
CNBC President KC Sullivan said in an e-mail to CNBC employees that they should focus on their core strengths of business news and personal finance. Some of our priorities and resources will need to be shifted as a result of this strategic alignment.
The show will end later this month. He has a team of about 20 people. Over the coming weeks, the company will help employees affected by the cancellation find other opportunities.
CNBC hired Smith from Fox News to boost ratings. The show doubled CNBC's 7 p.m. time. Sullivan said that the show brought in the wealthiest audience of any cable news program over the last two years. The average audience for "The News with Shepard Smith" was up last month.
Sullivan's first major decision since taking over CNBC was to move on from Smith. CNBC's president since 2005 has beenHoffman.
While other news organizations are cutting costs, the decision to replace Smith's show with a nightly business program is strategic. Sullivan is trying to clarify CNBC's brand as specifically targeting business, given the many choices on TV and on the internet for more general news.
Sullivan wrote that "we need to further invest in business news content that gives our audiences actionable understanding of the complex developments in global markets and the implications on institutions, investors and individuals."
Shep Smith reports on advertisers pulling out of the social networking site.
CNBC is owned by NBCUniversal.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
