Say this for the third-place cable news network: CNN's unafraid of trying new things.
This week, the network is to shake up its 10 p.m. hour, replacing a re-airing of the 8 p.m. "Anderson Cooper 360" with a new show, "The Point." (The "Anderson" re-airings will move to 11 p.m. for the week.) "The Point" is to be a panel discussion featuring commentators including ESPN's Rick Reilly and inescapable ad guru Donny Deutsch.
This week of experimenting with a new program appears to be an on-air tryout for what would be recently installed CNN head Jeff Zucker's first change to the prime-time lineup (though Zucker had reportedly wished to move 7 p.m. host Erin Burnett to the mornings). The week of "The Point" comes shortly after the announcement of a new morning show featuring Chris Cuomo, and CNN has also installed former ABC news star Jake Tapper in the afternoons.
("The Point" is still, evidently, very much evolving: It is on CNN's schedule but does not as yet have its own Web page, as clicking on the show's title merely redirects to the network's listings.)
In the prized 25-54 demographic, the "Anderson" re-airing consistently comes in third place to Fox News' "On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren" and MSNBC's "The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell," both of which air for the first time at 10.
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