LATE NIGHT, FIRST UP: CBS wasted almost no time in naming Dave Letterman’s replacement. The Tiffany network announced today that Stephen Colbert would be the next host of Late Night. The Colbert Report, which airs on Comedy Central after The Daily Show, will be ending in eight months, and the Stephen Colbert character will not be coming to the show.
CNN’s BIG DAY: CNN held its upfront today for advertisers and journalists and made several big announcements. We’ve gone in-depth on the top three
CNN NEW SCHEDULE: The CNN Search is over and a dark horse emerged victorious. It was so much of a dark horse, reporters didn’t even put it up as an option. Starting later this year, the 9 P.M. slot will be occupied by CNN Original Series and CNN Films. The network also announced three new series from Mike Rowe, Lisa Ling, and John Walsh. Mike Rowe’s series will look at unique men and women and will be called Somebody’s Gotta Do It. The Hunt will be hosted by John Walsh, who previously hosted America’s Most Wanted, and will look at fugitive-at-large, international crimes. The Jesus Code will look at evidence regarding Jesus and Lisa Ling has an untitled show that goes deep into America. Inside Man and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown will also air on the weekdays.
CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker did reiterate that the network will pre-empty the series and films for breaking news coverage, saying that anchors Wolf Blitzer, Bill Weir, and Jake Tapper will appear to do breaking news coverage.
CNN also announced that live programming will return to 10 P.M. with the addition of CNN Tonight. The show will have rotating anchors, although it is believed to be primarily Bill Weir and Don Lemon.
CNN SECOND SCREEN: CNN Digital announced CNNx, a new app for the iPad which will later expand onto set-top boxes. The app was released for the iPad today for certain provider subscribers. The app will allow for live CNN, as well as the ability to look at various rundowns from CNN shows. Users will also be able to look up news stories that connect to the clip.
NEW BRAND CAMPAIGN FOR CNN: CNN also announced a new brand campaign called “Go There.” The new campaign emphasizes CNN’s resources which anchors, such as Wolf Blitzer, have been bringing up lately to stress CNN’s news capabilities. The network also released a new promo for the campaign and the video has been shown on CNN TV throughout the day.