CNN Pressroom - Morning Express Continues to Grow P25-54 Audience Since November Rebrand

Rafer Weigel will be joining Headline News’ flagship morning program, Morning Express with Robin Meade, as a sports anchor, it was announced today by Ken Jautz, executive vice president of CNN Worldwide. Weigel’s first day on the air will be Monday, Feb. 4, when he provides insights about Sunday’s Super Bowl.

“The addition of Rafer to our Morning Express team gives our audience yet another reason to tune in every morning for all the news they need to kick off the day,” Jautz said. “Rafer’s breadth of experience and enthusiasm for the arena of sports news make him an ideal fit for the high-energy morning lineup. We’re happy to welcome him aboard.”

Since its rebrand in November, Morning Express has seen the largest P25-54 increase among all cable news morning shows, up 12 percent. Over that same time period, Morning Express from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. (ET) has out-delivered MSNBC’s Morning Joe from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. by 29 percent (111k vs. 86k) in P25-54.

Weigel joins Headline News after working as the lead general assignment reporter at KOVR-TV, a CBS affiliate in Sacramento, Calif. Previously, he served as a general assignment and feature reporter at KUSI in San Diego. Weigel has also held sports reporting jobs at the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Sun-Times.

He graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana with a bachelor of arts in speech communications.

Morning Express with Robin Meade features an ensemble that includes lead anchor Robin Meade; news correspondent Richard Lui; meteorologist Bob Van Dillen and “Your Money” correspondent Jennifer Westhoven. Morning Express gives viewers their daily dose of news, weather, sports, entertainment, finance and travel. The show airs on Headline News from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. (ET).

Headline News, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, updates viewers constantly, 24 hours each day, with a complete and concise national newscast every half-hour through the day and a compelling slate of legal, entertainment and news programs during Headline Prime at night. The network delivers fast-paced, lively and engaging news, using the best resources of CNN Worldwide. Headline News is designed especially for viewers who want relevant and comprehensive news in a way that suits the urgency of their schedules.