HLN moves S.E. Cupp, Ashleigh Banfield to earlier time slots

ajc.com

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Posted Friday, November 17, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

Atlanta-based HLN is moving two of its evening shows hosted by S.E. Cupp and Ashleigh Banfield to earlier slots starting Monday, December 4.

Cupp, whose hourly show 'Unfiltered' debuted at 7 p.m. three months ago, is going to move two hours earlier, from 7 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Banfield, who is currently on at 8 p.m. for an hour, will move to 6 p.m. and air for two hours. The name of the show will change from "Prime Justice" to "Crime & Justice with Ashleigh Banfield."

Currently, the 5 to 7 p.m. slot is usually filled with crime shows such as "How it Really Happened."

Effectively, HLN is opting to turn prime-time hours after 8 p.m. to its crime shows like "The Hunt for John Walsh."

HLN chief Ken Jautz, in an email to staff, wrote: "This new line-up creates a stronger flow into prime, which now hosts a robust library of highly-rated HLN and CNN Original programming, designed for us to win."

Its weekday news programming will now air from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and over 14 hours Monday through Thursday, all the anchors are women. They are based in three different cities, with Robin Meade in the mornings the only one out of Atlanta. (Meade, Michaela, Carol Costello and Erica Hill also host shows Friday.)