ABC\'s Chris Cuomo Is Said to Jump to CNN

Chris Cuomo, a former news anchor on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” is on his way back to the morning shift, this time for CNN.

CNN is preparing to announce that it has hired Mr. Cuomo from ABC, according to people at both networks, who requested anonymity because the announcement has not been made publicly. Mr. Cuomo is expected to become a co-host of the channel’s morning show, called “Starting Point.”

TMZ first reported Mr. Cuomo’s impending move on Monday night. Representatives for CNN and ABC did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday morning.

Mr. Cuomo is the co-anchor of the ABC newsmagazine “20/20″ and a law correspondent for the network. He previously spent three years as the news anchor on “Good Morning America.” Mr. Cuomo was in the running for the co-host chair on “G.M.A.” when Diane Sawyer left the morning show for the evening newscast “World News” in 2009. But the co-host job went instead to George Stephanopoulos.

At CNN, Mr. Cuomo will have a new opportunity to lead a morning newscast. The new president of CNN Worldwide, Jeffrey Zucker, has said that the mornings are a priority for him, and the television industry has been paying close attention to his plans because he led NBC’s “Today” show to ratings highs two decades ago.

CNN could use the help. “Starting Point! ” had just 234,000 viewers on a typical morning in 2012, its lowest total viewer number in more than 10 years. Of those, just 96,000 were between the ages of 25 to 54, the crucial demographic for cable news advertisers.

“Starting Point” is currently anchored by Soledad O’Brien. The program is only 12 months old, so CNN risks irritating its audience by making a round of changes so soon. But the top executives at CNN and its parent company, Time Warner, have been dissatisfied with the “Starting Point” ratings ever since it premiered, and they most likely believe a shakeup is in order. A representative for Ms. O’Brien did not respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Cuomo is the third boldface name from ABC to be hired by CNN in the past year. The first was John Berman, a longtime ABC correspondent, who now co-hosts “Early Start,” the predawn newscast that precedes “Starting Point.” The second was Jake Tapper, the chief White House correspondent for ABC. Mr. Zucker was instrumental in signing Mr. Tapper, who will begin anchoring a daily program for CNN later this year. The executive in charge of talent at CNN, Amy Entelis, is also a transplant from ABC. She arrived at CNN about three months before Mr. Berman.