CNN Worldwide President Jim Walton has announced that he is resigning by the end of 2012 in a wake of the network’s poor U.S. ratings performance for the past few years, the U.S. media reported.
“CNN needs new thinking," Walton said in an email to the CNN staff on Friday. "That starts with a new leader who brings a different perspective, different experiences and a new plan, one who will build on our great foundation and will commit to seeing it through."
Walton, 54, has been instrumental in transforming the first U.S. 24/7 news channel into a financial powerhouse during his tenure as network’s president since 2003.
However, the company, owned by Time Warner Inc, has been steadily losing popularity among the U.S. viewers in tough competition with Fox News and MSNBC.
According to Nielsen Media Research, CNN has trailed both networks in the past 10 months, with an average of 584,000 total U.S. viewers in prime time, compared with Fox's 1.82 million viewers and MSNBC's 726,000 viewers.
Despite the network’s sagging performance in the United States, its global channel CNN International remains a major TV news coverage source around the world.
CNN's website CNN.com is also very successful both in attracting online users and generating revenue.
No successor has been named for Walton, who will stay on until December 31 to ensure the accurate and timely coverage of the U.S. presidential elections and to prepare a smooth transfer of leadership to a new executive.
