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Chris Wallace leaving Fox News, will join CNN+

By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Leaving: Chris Wallace said he was leaving Fox to pursue opportunities outside of politics. He announced he would be joining CNN's streaming service early next year. (Olivier Douliery/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Chris Wallace, the longtime “Fox News Sunday” host, announced on his Sunday program that he will be leaving Fox to pursue opportunities “beyond politics.”

>> PHOTOS: Chris Wallace through the years

Update 11:55 a.m. EST Dec. 12: CNN announced an hour after Wallace’s announcement that the broadcaster will be joining CNN+, the cable news network’s subscription streaming service, to host a weekday show.

Brian Stelter, the host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” program, made the announcement Sunday morning.

CNN+ is slated to begin programming in early 2022, CNN reported in July.

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“I am thrilled to join CNN+,” Wallace said in a statement released by CNN. “After decades in broadcasting cable news, I’m excited to explore the world of streaming.

“I look forward to the new freedom and flexibility streaming affords, and interviewing major figures across the news landscape, and finding new ways to tell stories.”

Original report: Wallace, who has anchored “Fox News Sunday” since 2003, made the announcement about leaving Fox at the end of his weekly program.

“After 18 years -- this is my final ‘Fox News Sunday,’” Wallace said. “It is the last time -- and I say this with real sadness -- we will meet like this. Eighteen years ago, the bosses here at Fox promised me they would never interfere with a guest I booked or a question I asked. And they kept that promise. I have been free to report to the best of my ability, to cover the stories I think are important, to hold our country’s leaders to account. It’s been a great ride.

“But after 18 years, I have decided to leave Fox. I want to try something new, to go beyond politics to all the things I’m interested in. I’m ready for a new adventure,” Wallace continued. “And I hope you’ll check it out. And so -- for the last time, dear friends -- that’s it for today. Have a great week. And I hope you’ll keep watching ‘Fox News Sunday.’”

Fox News released a statement Sunday, praising Wallace’s tenure with the network.

“We are extremely proud of our journalism and the stellar team that Chris Wallace was a part of for 18 years,” the statement read. “The legacy of ‘Fox News Sunday’ will continue with our star journalists, many of whom will rotate in the position until a permanent host is named.”

Wallace has also been a staple of Fox’s election coverage and moderated the first presidential debate in 2020 between then President Donald Trump and candidate Joe Biden. The debate was described as chaotic, and Wallace later told The New York Times that “I never dreamt that it would go off the tracks the way it did.”

The son of legendary CBS correspondent and investigative journalist Mike Wallace, Chris Wallace followed in his father’s footsteps with stints at NBC and ABC News, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was a moderator for NBC’s “Meet the Press” in 1987 and 1988.

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Photos: Chris Wallace through the years Here are some memorable photos of journalist Chris Wallace through the years. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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