CNN’s Chris Licht Had a ‘Golden Touch’ in Morning and Late Night. Now Comes His Biggest Challenge

Madonna is grabbing a late night meal.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA new NBCUniversal advertising executive is taking on the task of tackling advertisers to link themselves to such sports properties as “Sunday Night Football” and the soon-to-launch USFL.Peter Lazarus will take the lead on selling ads behind the bulk of NBCUniversal’s sports programming, part of a gradual overhaul of the company’s work behind connecting Madison Avenue with some of TV’s biggest and most-watched properties.Lazarus has been named executive vice president of sports ad-sales, taking up responsibilities previously held by Dan Lovinger, a longtime NBCU ad-sales exec who has been assigned to focus more intently on the company’s efforts behind Olympics advertising. Lovinger was elevated to president in January and will lead Olympics ad-sales efforts as NBCU works harder to fulfill a commitment it has made along the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, pledging to offer long-term deals to partners for TV, digital, and live event advertising, as well as brand activations and associations with Team USA.

Michael Buble is making an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!

Jared Leto is promoting two projects at the same time these days!

Hulu is coming out with a brand new murder mystery series called Career Opportunities in Murder and Mayhem.

Tributes have been paid to a teen pedestrian after he was killed in a horror crash on a road in Fife last night.

Dylan Minnette is a rising star in young Hollywood. The handsome actor, 25, has already won a legion of fans with his portrayals in Netflix’ uber-popular teen drama 13 Reasons Why, the children’s book adaption Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and the horror franchise Scream. He can currently be seen in the Hulu documentary The Dropout about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes starring Amanda Seyfried.

Nia Archives has won Best Producer Supported By BandLab at the BandLab NME Awards 2022.The producer, on the rise for her fresh and vibrant jungle sound, beat out Arca, Fred Again.., India Jordan, and Travis Barker for this year’s award.“It’s an enormous role, but one thing all of tonight’s nominees have in common is they are all dedicated to their craft,” presenter Tiffany Calver said of the job of a producer.“I fucking love jungle music,” Archives said while accepting the award at London’s O2 Academy Brixton, adding that she dedicates the win to her little brother.“It doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter where you come from, you can do whatever you like and you can make something of yourself,” she added.Nia Archives was born in Bradford and raised in Manchester on a steady diet of reggae, rocksteady and old-school jungle. She made the cut for the NME 100 2022, which lists a hundred essential emerging artists to keep an eye on this year, for her “dancefloor-ready nu-jazz” that packs in “every one of her diverse influences.”The DJ and vocalist’s innovative take on drum ’n’ bass can be heard on her remix of fellow nominee PinkPantheress’ track ‘Nineteen’, which was featured on her ‘To Hell With It’ remix album.

The Late Show host Stephen Colbert was sure that Chris Licht was the right person for the job of showrunner of his CBS late-night show when the pair met over a drink six years ago.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe showrunner is leaving, but the show must go on.Staffers at CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” aren’t sure who the next top producer will be at the program, according to three people familiar with the matter, with top producers ready to take their time to examine the needs of the show after the departure of Chris Licht, who has been executive producer of the late-night mainstay since 2016. Licht’s decision to take a new role as the CEO of CNN once Discovery closes its acquisition of WarnerMedia leaked this weekend, well before the executive was able to formally inform George Cheeks, CEO of Paramount Global’s CBS operations, or Shari Redstone, chairman of the company, according to one of these people.

NEW YORK -- Chris Licht, most recently Stephen Colbert's top producer at CBS, was appointed Monday as the new head of CNN, where he's expected to take over in May.Licht's expected appointment to replace Jeff Zucker as chief of CNN was widely reported over the weekend. Before moving into late-night TV, Licht was the chief executive behind the “CBS This Morning" news program and “Morning Joe” on MSNBC.The appointment was made by David Zaslav, Discovery CEO, who is expected to take over the merged company when Discovery's acquisition of CNN parent WarnerMedia is approved this spring.Zaslav called Licht a “dynamic and creative producer, an engaging and thoughtful journalist, and a true news person.”He said Licht is “a highly principled individual who is trusted, hard-working and makes every organization stronger, more innovative and more cohesive.”Zucker was forced out earlier this month, after admitting that he had violated corporate rules by not revealing his romantic relationship with a CNN marketing executive, Allison Gollust.

Discovery made the official announcement on Monday that Chris Licht, currently executive producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, will lead CNN after the completion of the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCNN will have a new chief for a new chapter.Chris Licht, a veteran producer who has overseen programs like MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and CBS’ “CBS This Morning” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” was named chairman and chief executive of CNN Global — a new name for the news operation once its parent, WarnerMedia, is acquired by Discovery. Licht will report directly to David Zaslav, who will be CEO of the combined company.Discovery is expected to take control of WarnerMedia sometime in mid-April, depending on a shareholder vote, among other conditions.The prospect of a new owner and a new top executive has spurred speculation about what new programming and operating direction may be in store for the venerable cable-news outlet, which has been under scrutiny since WarnerMedia ousted former president Jeff Zucker after he failed to disclose a romantic relationship with Allison Gollust, CNN’s former chief marketing officer.

NEW YORK -- CBS executive Chris Licht, who is currently running Stephen Colbert's late-night show after building two news programs, is expected to become the new president of CNN replacing Jeff Zucker.Licht will be named as soon as next week to the job, according to an executive familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak on personnel. The selection was first reported Saturday by the website Puck.The new chief is executive vice president of special programming at CBS.

Chris Licht, the executive producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert who also launched Morning Joe on MSNBC, is poised to take over the reins of CNN after the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger closes, a source confirmed.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorChris Licht, the wunderkind producer who launched “Morning Joe,” retooled “CBS This Morning” and helped late night host Stephen Colbert gain traction on CBS, is jumping to CNN to take over the operation once its corporate parent, WarnerMedia, is acquired by Discovery in a much-anticipated merger expected to take place in April, according to a person familiar with the matter.Licht could not be reached for immediate comment and a CNN spokesperson referred an inquiry to Discovery. A Discovery executive declined to comment.