Former Fox News anchor Shep Smith joins CNBC
Smith will anchor a new one-hour evening news program titled "The News With Shepard Smith," airing Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
Shepard Smith, the former Fox News anchor who left last year amid tensions with the channel's more conservative voices, is joining CNBC as a prime-time anchor, the financial news network announced Wednesday.
The hire brings one of cable news' most high-profile free agents to CNBC as the network is reportedly planning to add more news and commentary to its prime-time hours, which have historically been home to reality shows like "Shark Tank" and "The Profit."
Smith will anchor a new one-hour evening news program titled "The News With Shepard Smith," airing Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET, the network said. He will also assume the new roles of CNBC’s chief general news anchor and chief breaking general news anchor.
Mark Hoffman, the chairman of CNBC, characterized Smith's hire as part of CNBC's effort to provide fact-based news in a climate of political partisanship and misinformation.
“Information is coming at us from every direction. If we’re not careful life-altering decisions will be made based on half-truth, rumor, misdirection or worse,” Hoffman said in a statement.
“We aim to deliver a nightly program that, in some small way, looks for the signal in all the noise," he said. "We’re thrilled that Shep, who’s built a career on an honest fight to find and report the facts, will continue his pursuit of the truth at CNBC.”
CNBC is owned by NBC Universal, the parent company of NBC News.
Smith is the first big talent hire following NBCUniversal's move to reunite its three news brands — NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC — under the direction of one leader, NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde.
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