Chris Wallace Leaving Fox News, Joining CNN+

Veteran Fox News anchor Chris Wallace announced Sunday he will be leaving the network, effective immediately, to join CNN+.

CNN+ is a streaming service that will launch in early 2022. Wallace will be an anchor there.

Wallace announced he was leaving Fox at the end of "Fox News Sunday," the Sunday morning news show he has hosted for years.

"After 18 years I have decided to leave Fox," said Wallace. "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 and I hope you'll check it out."

Wallace also said in a statement he looks forward to the "flexibility streaming affords."

“We are extremely proud of our journalism and the stellar team that Chris Wallace was a part of for 18 years," said Fox News in a statement Sunday night. "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.”

“After 18 years — this is my final FOX News Sunday," said Wallace. "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."

Wallace's departure came as a "shock" to the TV news business.

CNN's Brian Stelter said Wallace's four-year contract with Fox ended in 2021. Stelter also said he heard from anonymous sources Wallace "wanted out" at the end of his contract.

Stelter also said Wallace "is one of the journalists who stands out like a sore thumb" at Fox "because the network has become more and more radicalized, both in the Trump years and now in the Biden years."