Variety: CNBC Shake-Up Has David Cho Replace Dan Colarusso as Editorial Chief

Story from Variety:

CNBC heads toward market close with a new executive about to come on board to manage its editorial ups and downs.

David Cho, formerly the top editorial executive at News Corp.’s Barron’s, will join the business-news outlet August 11 as its editor in chief, replacing both Dan Colarusso, senior vice president of CNBC’s business newsgathering and Jay Yarow, the executive editor of CNBC.com. The switch takes place as CNBC is about to be spun off with most of the other cable assets of NBCUniversal into a new company called Versant.

“David’s appointment as Editor-in-Chief marks an important evolution for CNBC as we unify editorial efforts across every platform,” said KC Sullivan, president of CNBC, in a statement. “With his deep expertise in business journalism and a strong track record as a strategic leader, David is uniquely positioned to guide our newsroom into the future. Under his leadership, we’ll continue to elevate the trust and clarity that define CNBC’s essential content – meeting our audience wherever they are with the authority and depth they expect.”

The new hire will serve to break down any silos between CNBC’s TV and online editorial operations. Cho will have oversight of all editorial staffers.

Along with his duties at Barron’s, Cho also oversaw editorial content for publications including MarketWatch, Investor’s Business Daily and Financial News London. He was previously business editor at The Washington Post and has also worked for The Star-Ledger, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Korea Herald.

Under Sullivan, CNBC has shed some of the glitzier programming it once featured in favor of content aimed at the stocks-and-bonds die-hards who come to it for the latest on the vicissitudes of the markets. In recent months, CNBC has launched a streaming product that makes both its U.S. and overseas programming available to subscribers and assigned one of its top producers to oversee the creation of new “verticals,” such wealth, women’s leadership and the business of sports.

There is reason to till new ground. The unit’s flagship cable network is projected to see ad dollars fall 6.5% in 2025, when market-research firm Kagan, a unit of S&P Global Intelligence, estimates gross advertising revenue will dip to $197.5 million, compared with $211.4 million in 2024. Subscribers, meanwhile, are estimated to fall nearly 5% next year, to 59.6 million from 62.7 million.

Colarusso has been with CNBC in the top editorial since 2019, after logging stints at Reuters and Bloomberg. Yarow had been executive editor at Business Insider before joining CNBC in 2016.ted streaming service with the Spectrum TV Select video package.