Christiane Amanpour announces exit from CNN weeks after Skydance acquires network

Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor, has announced she will sign off from the cable network next June, weeks after Skydance Corporation, an American mass media and entertainment conglomerate, took over the network.

On October 6, Skydance-owned Paramount closed an $81 billion buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery and took over two titans of the American TV news landscape, CBS and CNN, bringing both platforms under the same roof.

After 43 years, Amanpour announced her departure from the network shortly after the transition was finalised. However, she made no mention of the drama in her departure note.

“After many months of thought and a few sleepless nights, I have decided to separate from CNN, my partner of 43 fantastic years!” she said in a statement.

Read also: Christiane Amanpour to leave CNN in 2027 after 43 years

Amanpour said she looks forward to interesting new projects down the line, and will always be rooting for CNN and maintaining its history of independent journalism.

According to CNN, Amanpour, a household name worldwide for her heroism as a foreign correspondent, has hosted an eponymous nightly interview program on CNN International since 2009.

In January 2025, she scaled back to hosting a few days a week. In January 2027, she will shift the program to once a week, until it ends in May. She will continue reporting and traveling the world for CNN through June.

Media sources speculated that Amanpour was leaving due to philosophical differences with CNN’s new owner, David Ellison, Skydance CEO.

She recently voiced concern over his purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, pointing to Bari Weiss, CBS news editor-in-chief, efforts to shake up the network since Ellison installed her in the role with a mandate to bring greater balance last year.

“Clearly I’m concerned, and I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say about the corporate thing that’s underway, but I am obviously as a person, as a journalist with a record concerned,” Amanpour said in May.

On the eve of the deal completion, Skydance confirmed that CNN’s Mark Thompson will stay on as editor-in-chief of the network, separate from CBS, where Bari Weiss remains at the helm.

According to reports, David Ellison, Skydance CEO, has a cozy relationship with President Donald Trump, who has been far from shy about targeting coverage he deems unfavorable from both CNN and CBS. Last month, his administration moved to bar CNN from the White House, and the network’s new ownership arrives as coverage ramps up less than a month ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Ellison has pledged to maintain complete editorial independence. Under a recent settlement with states that challenged the merger, the company also agreed to establish new monitoring of CBS and CNN by forming a News Editorial Independence Board within 180 days.

Mark Thompson, CNN chairman, shared Amanpour’s decision in a memo to colleagues on Monday, saying, “Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months.

“Like so many CNNers who will hear the news today, I’m very sorry to see her go, but I’ve come to accept that this is the right time for her, both personally and professionally,” Thompson said.

He described her as one of the most trusted and beloved journalists anywhere and said the network will take time to celebrate her before she departs next year.

“In the meantime, on behalf of the entire CNN leadership team, I want to thank Christiane for 43 extraordinary years of remarkable journalism, loyalty and friendship,” Thompson wrote.

In her statement, Amanpour said she thanked all the amazingly talented people she worked with throughout her journey, especially her show teams and field crews.

“From my very first big, exciting assignment covering the First Gulf War, to the horrors of the Bosnian War, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Iran and all the points in between, it’s the teams and the camaraderie that counted so much.

“As we together battled to seek the facts, the evidence and the humanity, so that CNN could always broadcast the truth about the world and to the world, without fear nor favor,” she said.

Amanpour also said she will continue her podcast, ‘The Ex Files,’ with ex-husband Jamie Rubin, produced by Global.