Former Fox News anchor Shepard Smith’s CNBC show was canceled by the cable news network on Thursday, according to the outlet, a little over two years after its debut.
“After spending time with many of you and closely reviewing the various aspects of our business, I believe we must prioritize and focus on our core strengths of business news and personal finance,” wrote CNBC president KC Sullivan in a memo to staffers. “As a result of this strategic alignment to our core business, we will need to shift some of our priorities and resources and make some difficult decisions.”
The News with Shepard Smith debuted in September 2020. Prior to making the jump to CNBC, Smith hosted several shows at Fox News over the course of his 23-year career there, eventually becoming chief anchor and managing editor of the network’s breaking news division.
Smith left Fox in October 2019, a year and a half after signing a multiyear contract.
He departed after tensions between Smith and the opinion hosts at Fox reached a boiling point. Smith was mocked by Tucker Carlson that September, who also accused Smith of being a “partisan.”
“I don’t know how some people sleep at night,” said Smith last January, commenting on some of his former colleagues. “I know that there are a lot of people who have propagated the lies and have pushed them forward over and over again who are smart enough and educated enough to know better.”
Reporting from National Review.
