CNN’s Chief Digital Officer, Athan Stephanopoulos, has stepped down from his role. Stephanopoulos mentioned that he believes it’s the opportune moment to allow CNN’s recently appointed Chief, Mark Thompson the freedom to structure and shape the digital organization as he ideates.
Stephanopoulos who joined CNN in October 2022, was brought in under the leadership of Chris Licht, Thompson’s predecessor. With Thompson aiming to restrategize CNN’s digital and streaming businesses, this move marks a judicious shift to elevate the network’s digital profile to cater to changing viewer habits away from traditional cable TV.
This is the second change in leadership within CNN’s digital executive team since the management shift to Warner Bros. Discovery in August 2022, following its acquisition of WarnerMedia assets from AT&T.
In June 2022, executives Alex MacCallum and Robyn Peterson, both instrumental in the launch of CNN’s subscription video hub, CNN+ left.