Anderson Cooper has employed a reputed Hollywood “super agent” — an indication that the CNN anchor, mentioned to be knocking down an annual wage of $18 million, might exit the struggling cable community amid looming value cuts.
Cooper, the 58-year-old son of the late dressmaker and railroad heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, is ditching his longtime agent United Expertise Company in favor of Inventive Artists Company and its prime deal dealer Bryan Lourd.
Information of Cooper’s transfer was reported on Tuesday morning by the information websites Semafor and Selection. A CNN spokesperson declined to remark. CAA has additionally declined to remark.
The Submit left a message on Lourd’s voicemail looking for affirmation of the Selection and Semafor reviews.
The choice to change brokers and rent Lourd is critical on condition that the CAA rep’s shopper roster leans extra towards Hollywood’s elite than conventional broadcast journalists, based on Selection.
Lourd has supplied his providers to A-list stars reminiscent of Scarlett Johansson, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron and Daniel Craig.
Cooper’s shift in companies has raised questions on whether or not the anchor could also be making ready to increase his portfolio — or probably exit the community altogether — as the standard TV information mannequin faces mounting monetary pressures.
The previous battle correspondent has diversified his media presence through the years. Along with anchoring “Anderson Cooper 360” on CNN, he contributes to CBS’s “60 Minutes” and beforehand guest-hosted “Jeopardy!”
He was additionally as soon as thought-about for a everlasting function alongside Kelly Ripa on Disney’s syndicated morning present “Live.” These facet gigs have given Cooper room to stretch past arduous information, and his newest agent change suggests there could also be extra evolution forward.
Business observers advised Selection that Cooper’s timing comes as networks throughout the board are slicing prices and rethinking their expertise methods.
Cooper’s bosses at media conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery, which oversees CNN, is restructuring to separate its TV networks from its streaming and manufacturing companies, a transfer analysts say might place the cable channels for a future sale.
Earlier this month, WBD CEO David Zaslav introduced the cut up. He has assigned his “slash and burn” chief monetary officer, Gunnar Wiedenfels, the duty of on the lookout for methods to slash prices when he takes over CNN and different cable belongings below the umbrella of a brand new firm referred to as World Networks.
Final week, Puck Information reported that Cooper’s hefty wage — which is claimed to be greater than 5 occasions that of fellow primetime host Kaitlan Collins although they generate related viewership numbers — may very well be in Wiedenfels’ crosshairs.
CNN has refused to substantiate Cooper’s wage. The community has additionally disputed the figures which have been reported within the press. The Submit has sought remark from Cooper.
Many veteran anchors have been let go or requested to take pay cuts. Chris Wallace exited CNN whereas Cooper’s former colleagues Don Lemon, Jim Acosta and Alisyn Camerota have all departed key roles.
Cooper’s personal longstanding cope with CNN reportedly dates again to 2016, when he signed a multiyear extension believed to final at the very least 5 years. That contract was broadly interpreted as CNN’s approach of locking him down and maintaining him from becoming a member of ABC’s morning present.
In recent times, Cooper has grown his profile by a podcast on grief and his recurring New 12 months’s Eve broadcasts with Andy Cohen, which have develop into a trademark of CNN’s vacation programming.
In the meantime, the mother or father firms behind these information operations are present process vital transformations. Paramount World, which owns CBS Information, is within the technique of merging with Skydance Media, a deal that features $1.5 billion in deliberate value reductions — on prime of $500 million already slashed.
At Comcast, NBCUniversal is spinning off lots of its cable belongings, placing MSNBC and CNBC on a special monitor from NBC Information.
