CNN is reportedly paying anchor Anderson Cooper $18 million a year — an eye-popping sum that could be in the crosshairs when the ratings-challenged network is spun off by its debt-ridden parent company.
Cooper, the face of the network and host of its primetime show at 8 p.m., along with other anchors like Kaitlan Collins and Jake Tapper face an uncertain future following Monday’s stunning announcement by Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav about the looming split, according to the Puck newsletter.
Zaslav tapped WBD Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels to take over CNN and other cable assets including TNT, TBS, HGTV as part of a new company called Global Networks.
A source told The Post that CNN staffers are worried about Wiedenfel, who they say has a reputation for ruthlessly cutting costs.
“Gunnar news is not good,” the person said. “He is slash and burn.”
Puck media writer Dylan Byers singled out Cooper and his $18 million salary as a possible target, considering the network remains mired in last place in the ratings.
“Why, for instance, would Gunnar pay Anderson Cooper $18 million a year when Kaitlan Collins draws the same ratings at roughly a fifth of the salary?” Byers wrote.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings, “Anderson Cooper 360” drew 647,000 total viewers on Tuesday — or about $27 per viewer.
“The Source with Kaitlan Collins, which airs at 9 p.m., pulled in 829,000 viewers on Tuesday, according to Nielsen.
Cooper’s exact salary has never been reported and its not clear where Byers got the figure. The Post previously reported that the son of Gloria Vanderbilt is paid as much as $20 million a year.
A CNN spokesperson declined to comment Cooper’s salary.
Cooper, who joined CNN in 2001, may not stick around for the purported bloodbath.
“By the time Gunnar gets around to it, Anderson will likely have determined that he no longer wants to read the day’s news to less than a million people every night, either,” Byers wrote.
The CNN rep vigorously pushed back on Byers’ suggestion that high-salaried anchors may get severe haircuts amid anticipated restructuring under Wiedenfels.
“This is a complete fabrication. There is zero truth to this,” the spokesperson said.
The cable news pioneer — which touts itself as “The Most Trusted Name in News” — had paid out hefty contracts but its ratings have plunged to historic lows in recent years.
During breaking news events, Fox News has often quadrupled CNN’s audience.
Fox News is a unit of Fox Corp — sister company to The Post’s corporate parent News Corp.
The economics of maintaining a sprawling global news operation with expensive talent are becoming increasingly hard to defend, especially as younger viewers turn to TikTok and YouTube for news.
Last fall, CNN denied raises to veteran anchors Tapper and Wolf Blitzer as rank-and-file journalists braced for layoffs, as The Post reported.
As part of the Warner Bros. Discovery breakup, Zaslav will keep HBO, Warner Bros. Studios and the Max streaming platform.
Last week, 59% of shareholders voted against his massive $51.9 million pay package for 2024 — a strong sign of investor frustration.
WBD was formed in 2022 in a $43.1 billion merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery.
The majority of WBD’s roughly $37 billion in debt load will be foisted onto the Global Network.
