Chris Wallace is leaving CNN after three years as one of its biggest stars, he told the Daily Beast exclusively on Monday.

The 77-year-old broadcaster said he will instead find a new home on an independent platform such as streaming or podcasting, which he described as “where the action seems to be.” He highlighted how podcasters including Joe Rogan and Charlamagne tha God had set the agenda during the presidential election, but added: “I don’t flatter myself to think I’ll have that kind of reach.”

Wallace’s stunning decision to walk away from CNN at the end of his three-year, seven-figure contract rather than renegotiate it is a turning point for cable television. It comes at a time when other anchors are being laid off or seeing salaries cut as declining ratings and cord-cutting hit the bottom line.

Wallace was one of the leading faces in CNN’s election night coverage last week, correctly predicting that Kamala Harris would need a “miracle” to win as early exit polls showed the depth of her electoral problems. He came to CNN in 2021 after 18 years at Fox News, where he repeatedly interviewed Donald Trump and won praise for his handling of the fiery 2020 presidential debate between Trump and Joe Biden.

But he told the Daily Beast that his career in broadcast television — which began on local television in Chicago in 1973 and extended to NBC’s The Today Show And Meet the pressABCs PrimeTimeLive And Fox News Sunday before joining CNN — will be over when his contract expires at the end of the year, which he describes as “pretty liberating.”

“This is the first time in 55 years that I’ve been between jobs,” he said. “I’m actually excited and liberated by that.”

Contemplating which streaming or podcast format would work for him, Wallace added: “Not knowing is part of the challenge. I wait to see what comes across the mirror. Maybe it’s something I haven’t thought about at all.”

CNN wanted to keep Wallace, but his decision to quit ahead of contract talks will be seen as a sign of CNN’s declining influence in the media landscape. Ratings have consistently fallen, with election night coverage lagging far behind Fox News. In relative terms, the industry has drifted further and faster than its competitors, Fox and MSNBC, leading to pressure to reduce costs.

Wallace emphasized that his decision was not a criticism of his employers. “I only have positive things to say. CNN has been very good to me,” he said. He became one of the main faces of the streaming network CNN+, but was shut down by CNN’s new CEO Chris Licht a month after going live in March 2022. Wallace anchors The Chris Wallace Show on Saturday mornings and Who’s talking to Chris Wallace?which streams on Max.

CNN CEO and Chairman Mark Thompson said in a statement: “Chris Wallace is one of the most respected political journalists in the news business with a unique track record across radio, print, broadcast television, cable television and streaming. We would like to thank him for the dedication and wisdom he has brought to all of his work at CNN and wish him all the best for the future.”

His move from conventional broadcasting, after a career that has seen him win every major award, including three Emmys, comes at what TV executives are calling an existential moment for the industry. In September, Hoda Kotb sent shockwaves by quitting NBC’s Today Show amid reports that she had refused to accept a contract worth less than $20 million. Other network stars on television are bracing for budget cuts, while an NBC executive warned of a looming “bloodbath” following Kotb’s departure.

The crisis in conventional television is mirrored by a deeply disrupted media landscape in which new stars are born on podcasts, streaming and social platforms, and existing stars look to the same formats to reinvent themselves.

Until now, the most successful streamers or independent broadcasters to emerge from traditional television have been almost exclusively on the right. Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly have both turned a combination of polemics, conspiracies, lavish praise for Donald Trump, and interviews with other MAGA figures into large online followings.

In contrast, Wallace’s former CNN colleague Don Lemon has largely failed to gain traction over his own Don Lemon showwhich he launched as a collaboration with Elon Musk’s X, with a dazzling interview with the billionaire. But Musk objected to the questions and ended the deal. Left-wing polemicist Mehdi Hassan has gained a large following on Substack after leaving MSNBC, meaning Wallace would be unusual if he weren’t a partisan fighter.

“I am clearly not going to become a supporter of the extreme right or extreme left. It’s just missing from my DNA,” he said.

Instead, he said he will rely on his own brand, honed over decades of interviews, for influence. “I’ve interviewed presidents, princes, kings and one saint, Mother Teresa,” he said.

He has also, like other presenters, made popular history. He is working on an addition to his bestseller “Countdown” series, which so far covers the lead-up to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; the 1960 presidential election; and the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

Wallace said he decided to take a new direction after talking to his wife Lorraine about his future in the spring of 2024 and deciding he would “stay put” in the election and then decline to renew his contract. The couple has six children and nine grandchildren. “My family just wants me to be happy and keep working,” he said. “They don’t want to have to worry about entertaining me.”

Wallace is following a family tradition by entering a sixth decade in broadcasting, or its modern equivalent. His father, Mike, worked into his eighties and last appeared on 60 minutes shortly before his 90th birthday.

“I know I want to do something because Wallaces keeps working,” he said.

The Chris Wallace Show will complete its run next month and Who’s talking to Chris WallaceThe final episode is as planned on Friday.