CNN wunderkind Kaitlan Collins will be anchoring the embattled network’s 9 p.m. hour next week, prompting speculation that a job change could be in her future.
Collins, who normally co-hosts the ratings-challenged “CNN This Morning” with Don Lemon and Poppy Harlow, will be anchoring the coveted primetime slot starting Monday, CNN confirmed to The Post.
A spokesperson for the network adding that Collins will host from Monday through Thursday, and possibly Friday.
Although one source close to Collins denied that the move is a “trial run” to permanently helm the 9 p.m. show, another insider said “anything is possible.”
“I think it’s fair to say Chris Licht and leadership have been impressed,” said a source close to network boss Licht.
“She’s his favorite,” added another source, who said Collins has quickly become CNN’s “It girl,” much to the frustration of some network veterans including Lemon.
Collins’ primetime stint was reported earlier by media news site Puck.
Lemon, who was moved to the morning show after Licht canceled his 10 p.m. program, has been embroiled in a slew of bad press over his difficult behavior.
Lemon screamed at Collins in December after a tense broadcast, rattling staff and upsetting higher ups. In February, the outspoken anchor sparked outrage when he declared that 51-year-old GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not “in her prime.”
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This week, a Variety report uncovered allegations of decades-long disrespectful, “diva-like” behavior often directed at his female co-workers.
Although Lemon’s antics have ruffled the feathers of his co-hosts, a rep for CNN told The Post that the decision to let Collins anchor during primetime next week was planned before the Variety story came out.
Collins, 32, has previously filled in at the primetime slot, which was once helmed by disgraced former anchor Chris Cuomo, was fired by the struggling cable news outfit in late 2021 after it was learned he was helping his brother, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, fight sexual harassment allegations made by ex-aides.
Licht has since appointed a rotating lineup of anchors and has designs on launching a once-a-week 9 p.m. show that will likely be anchored by CBS star Gayle King and possibly, by former NBA star Charles Barkley.
When Collins anchored during primetime last Wednesday and Friday, she was able to hold the audience pretty well following Anderson Cooper’s 8 p.m. program. Last Wednesday, Collins drew 567,000 total viewers, to Cooper’s 665,000. Both shows came in third to first-place Fox News and No. 2 MSNBC.
Coasting on special news coverage of former President Donald Trump’s indictment, Collins ratcheted up 1.8 million viewers, trailing Fox News’ “Hannity” with 4 million, and MSNBC’s report anchored by Rachel Maddow with 2.8 million.
Meanwhile, “CNN This Morning” continues to slip in the ratings, and insiders told The Post that eventually Licht will have to tinker with the anchor lineup again if there isn’t a turnaround.
“CNN This Morning” averaged 359,000 viewers in the first quarter, but that show’s audience jumps to 438,000 total viewers when factoring in the simulcast on CNN sister station HLN.
By comparison, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” averaged 846,000 total viewers while Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” broadcast emerged on top with an average of 1.21 million viewers.
