Rick Sanchez to Replace Campbell Brown Until Spitzer-Parker Arrive

CNN plugs 8 p.m. hole in lineup as speculation about 7 p.m. swirls

If you watch CNN, you’re going to be seeing a lot of Rick Sanchez in August.

Campbell Brown is leaving CNN at the end of the month, and the yet-to-be-named Eliot Spitzer and Kathleen Parker show doesn’t start until after Labor Day.

So CNN is putting Sanchez – current host of the 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. block – in Brown’s slot until Spitzer and Parker are ready.

Sanchez made the announcement on Monday at the end of his afternoon show. Via TVNewser:

"Pretty soon we're going to have two things going on. A: We're going to be doing this newscast at 8:00 at night. We're excited about that, and my book is going to be coming out."

A spokesperson for CNN told TheWrap that Sanchez will continue hosting his 3-5 p.m. show while he fills in at 8 p.m. (Sanchez has served as Brown’s sub in the past, and at one point hosted his own primetime show – “” – on the network.)

Meanwhile, the New York Post reports that Brown’s struggling lead-in – “John King U.S.A.” – is on the rocks.

Of that report, a CNN spokesperson said, “not true.”

Comments