Fox News anchor Chris Wallace announced he's leaving the network. A short while later, CNN confirmed he was joining their new network streaming service, CNN Plus.
Wallace said he's 'ready for a new adventure.'
Variety first reported the move to CNN, which CNN 'Reliable Sources' host Brian Stelter confirmed just before noon Sunday.
Wallace, the anchor of Fox News Sunday since 2003, announced his departure on the program Sunday morning.
“After 18 years — this is my final Fox News Sunday,” Wallace said. “It is the last time — and I say this with real sadness — we will meet like this.”
Calling his time at Fox News “a great ride,” Wallace said he’s “decided to leave Fox.”
“I want to try something new, to go beyond politics to all the things I’m interested in,” he added. “I’m ready for a new adventure. And I hope you’ll check it out.”
Fox News issued a statement: “We are extremely proud of our journalism and the stellar team that Chris Wallace was a part of for 18 years. The legacy of ‘Fox News Sunday’ will continue with our star journalists, many of whom will rotate in the position until a permanent host is named.”
Fox News last announced a contract extension for Wallace in 2017, and his current agreement with Fox News is believed to have come to an end.
Fox News Channel is expected to staff “Sunday" with a rotation of hosts, Variety reported. Bret Baier, John Roberts, Shannon Bream, Martha MacCallum, Neil Cavuto, Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer are among the network’s news staffers who are likely to take the Sunday seat in weeks to come.
The news comes as a cable news old guard is moving out of traditional nightly news. Last week, NBC News' Brian Williams signed off from his 11 p.m. program on MSNBC after 28 years with the network. And MSNBC's Rachel Maddow is likely leaving her daily program next year as she pursues different types of journalism endeavors with the network. That leaves a key 9 p.m. primetime spot open.
Finally, there was the Chris Cuomo scandal. Cuomo was terminated from the network last Saturday following new revelations from a legal review made by the company into Cuomo's involvement in the management of his brother's sexual harassment scandal. That left his 9 p.m. slot, often the network's best in terms of ratings, open.
Wallace was the first Fox News personality to moderate a presidential debate, doing it in 2016 and 2020. The debate he moderated last year drew much scorn from conservatives as Wallace frequently cut off then-President Donald Trump as he interrupted Democratic challenger Joe Biden to contest a point.
Trump at one point objected to a Wallace question on healthcare policy, saying, "I guess I'm debating you not him (Biden). But that's okay. I'm not surprised."
In CNN's announcement, Wallace said, "I look forward to the new freedom and flexibility streaming affords in interviewing major figures across the news landscape — and finding new ways to tell stories.”
CNN said more details about Wallace's new role will be forthcoming.
Material from the Associated Press and Reuters was used in this story.
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