Discovery Inc. has tapped producer Chris Licht to lead CNN after it takes over the cable-news channel, according to people familiar with the matter, turning to a veteran news and late-night TV showrunner to steady a network roiled by the sudden departure of its long-serving president.

An announcement of Mr. Licht’s appointment as CNN president is expected next week, some of the people said. Mr. Licht isn’t expected to start at the network until after the completion of the merger of CNN parent WarnerMedia and Discovery, which...

Discovery Inc. has tapped producer Chris Licht to lead CNN after it takes over the cable-news channel, according to people familiar with the matter, turning to a veteran news and late-night TV showrunner to steady a network roiled by the sudden departure of its long-serving president.

An announcement of Mr. Licht’s appointment as CNN president is expected next week, some of the people said. Mr. Licht isn’t expected to start at the network until after the completion of the merger of CNN parent WarnerMedia and Discovery, which is expected to happen in the second quarter.

Mr. Licht, who is currently executive producer of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on Paramount Global’s CBS network, has also been the executive producer of “CBS This Morning” as well as MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

The pending appointment of Mr. Licht comes during a pivotal period for CNN, which is grappling with declining ratings and is preparing to jump into the streaming wars with a new subscription service, CNN+, as the Discovery deal nears its close. The network is also reeling from the recent departures of CNN President Jeff Zucker, Chief Marketing Officer Allison Gollust and prime-time anchor Chris Cuomo.

Mr. Licht will have a smaller role than Mr. Zucker, who beyond his role as CNN president also oversaw sports for WarnerMedia, some of the people said. When he starts, Mr. Licht will have latitude to make significant changes at CNN, including its business strategy, programming and digital offerings, one of the people said. One area of focus will likely be sizing up the network’s mix of political coverage, investigative reporting and breaking news and deciding whether it needs to be changed, the person said.

Stephen Colbert, left, and Chris Licht celebrated their Emmy in September last year.

Photo: Chris Pizzello/Associated Press

Mr. Licht’s pending selection was first reported by Puck.

The decision to hire Mr. Licht is one of the first major personnel moves made by Discovery ahead of its combination with WarnerMedia, currently a unit of AT&T Inc. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav, who will run the combined company—to be named Warner Bros. Discovery—has said little publicly about his plans for CNN but praised the network’s coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war on an earnings conference call earlier this week.

While Mr. Licht has strong producing chops, he has never run an enterprise as big as CNN, which has thousands of employees and whose operations span the globe.

CNN is readying a paid subscription service, CNN+, which aims to give the network a beachhead in the video-streaming wars. CNN has spent big to lure prominent journalists, including former “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace and Audie Cornish, the former co-host of NPR’s “All Things Considered.” The service will include offerings from some of CNN’s biggest anchors, including “State of the Union” co-host Jake Tapper, “The Situation Room” host Wolf Blitzer and “Don Lemon Tonight” anchor Don Lemon.

CNN’s ratings have fallen dramatically following the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, and the network has struggled to recover against rivals MSNBC and Fox News. The network’s ratings tend to improve relative to competitors during major breaking news events such as the recent Russia-Ukraine war.

Mr. Licht is to take over CNN as one of its most important time slots, the 9 p.m. show previously hosted by Mr. Cuomo, has been without a designated host for months.

Mr. Cuomo was fired in December amid an investigation into his efforts to help his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, respond to allegations of sexual misconduct. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned as governor in August, has denied that he touched anyone inappropriately. A spokesman for Chris Cuomo has said the former anchor was transparent with CNN executives about his efforts to aid his brother. That investigation eventually ensnared Mr. Zucker, who resigned earlier this month, citing his failure to disclose a consensual relationship with Ms. Gollust.

WarnerMedia Chief Executive Jason Kilar

said in a memo at the conclusion of the investigation that WarnerMedia had found violations of CNN’s news standards and practices by Mr. Cuomo, Ms. Gollust and Mr. Zucker. Ms. Gollust resigned last week. Following Mr. Kilar’s memo, Ms. Gollust said she was disappointed by the way she was treated “after spending the past nine years defending and upholding CNN’s highest standards of journalistic integrity.”

Some of CNN’s most prominent anchors—including Messrs. Tapper and Lemon—questioned Mr. Kilar about Mr. Zucker’s resignation in tense staff meetings in the days after his exit. Many CNN employees are personally loyal to Mr. Zucker, who recruited and promoted some of its biggest stars, and were hurt by his sudden resignation. Other CNN journalists interviewed by The Wall Street Journal in recent weeks said CNN needs to move on from the upheaval created by Mr. Zucker’s departure, which they said they view as a distraction from the network’s journalism mission.

In the wake of Mr. Zucker’s departure, Mr. Zaslav began aggressively courting Mr. Licht, according to people close to the matter. Mr. Zaslav and Mr. Licht have had a cordial relationship for years. Mr. Licht has been an attendee of Mr. Zaslav’s annual Labor Day party in the Hamptons, which draws the elite of the media and political worlds, one of the people said.

Mr. Licht is also close to Mr. Zucker, and was considered a candidate for a senior role at CNN even before Mr. Zucker resigned, a person familiar with the matter said.

CNN is currently being run by Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent and content development; Michael Bass, executive vice president of programming; and Ken Jautz, an executive vice president.

Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com and Benjamin Mullin at Benjamin.Mullin@wsj.com