CNN implements new schedule without midnight show pitched to Jim Acosta, what ever happened to it?
It has been more than three weeks since CNN implemented its revamped programming lineup, but still no sign of the midnight show that was offered to former anchor Jim Acosta.
In mid-January, days before President Donald Trump's inauguration, it was reported that CNN chief Mark Thompson wanted to overhaul daytime programming involving a reshuffling of its current anchors, most notably moving Wolf Blitzer and his long-running show "The Situation Room" to mornings.
But little did Acosta know he was getting bumped as a result, with Blitzer and CNN's Pamela Brown set to co-anchor "The Situation Room" at Acosta's 10 a.m. ET timeslot.
Thompson pitched Acosta the midnight show, stressing that he would be getting an extra hour of programming versus the single hour he previously had and would simulcast on CNN's other channels, including CNN International, reaching a global audience.
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And while the proposed timeslot would run 12-2 a.m. ET, it would overlap with primetime programming on the West Coast, airing from 9-11 p.m. PT. If Acosta accepted, the shift would have involved him moving out of CNN's D.C. headquarters and into the network's Los Angeles bureau, according to reports.
In the end, Acosta walked, and in his final broadcast on Jan. 27 took parting shots at the new president, who he previously clashed with during Trump's first term in office.
Fast-forward to March 3, the day CNN's new programming lineup officially launched, except there isn't the midnight show that was previously promised to Acosta. Re-airings of "Anderson Cooper 360" and "Erin Burnett Outfront" have continued to fill the two-hour slot Acosta passed over.
Liberal critics at the time of Acosta's exit accused CNN of wanting to sideline him during the second Trump administration and make the liberal anchor less visible with what many in the media, like The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times, called the "graveyard shift."
Thompson publicly insisted, "We wanted Jim to stay," during his appearance at Semafor's media summit last month.
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One CNN insider suspected Thompson's midnight offer to Acosta wasn't serious.
"I have heard no discussion or scuttle about the slot being filled at all," the insider familiar with CNN's programming decisions told Fox News Digital.
The source did believe Thompson earnestly prefers not to have re-airings post-midnight with his broader goal of 24-hour live programming as he prepares CNN to evolve in the streaming era.
When asked whether they thought Thompson was actively searching for someone for the midnight slot, the CNN source replied, "I don't think he is."
"Mark probably would say that he wants more live overnight, and he hoped Acosta would be first up at that, but since Acosta wouldn’t, Mark will have to wait," the network insider said.
A second source familiar with the discussions between Thompson and Acosta told Fox News Digital that the midnight show was specifically offered only to Acosta without anyone else at CNN being considered for it, which was why the network left the post-midnight schedule that included re-airings of other programs intact.
Fox News Digital reached out to CNN for comment.