Aug 30 (Reuters) - Warner Bros Discovery named Mark Thompson as CEO of CNN on Wednesday, tasking the former New York Times and BBC chief with reviving a news network beset by sagging ratings and falling profits.

Thompson succeeds Chris Licht, who stepped down in June after a rocky one year at the helm that included a divisive town hall with former Republican U.S. President Donald Trump and the shutdown of CNN+ streaming service just weeks after its launch.

With Thompson, Warner Bros Discovery is turning to an executive with ample experience at the top level, unlike Licht - a former TV producer who had worked on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" and MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

During his 8-year tenure as the CEO of the Times, Thompson helped transform the Gray Lady into a beacon for newspapers in the internet age by focusing on digital subscriptions.

The Times' share price grew nearly five-fold in the period, widely outperforming the benchmark S&P 500 index.

"Mark is a true innovator who has transformed for the digital age two of the world's most respected news organizations," Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav said.

Shares of the company rose more than 1% on Wednesday, outstripping the broader market. They have risen nearly 40% this year.

PIVOTAL TIME Thompson's appointment, effective Oct. 9, comes ahead of what is expected to be a hotly contested U.S. presidential election next year with candidates including Trump, Democratic incumbent Joe Biden and Florida governor Ron Desantis.

A big focus area for the new CEO is likely to be the recently announced round-the-clock news service called CNN Max, which will be available on Warner Bros Discovery's streaming platform.

CNN Max is looking to capitalize on the immediacy of breaking news and analysis, differentiating it from CNN+, which featured lifestyle programs.

"Thompson's appointment underlines the importance of turning around the fortunes of CNN," said PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore. But he warned that success was not guaranteed given the trend of cord-cutting and stiff competition in the industry.

"It comes at a pivotal time in a make or break scenario for the business. All options should still be on the table," he added, referring to speculation that the news network could be up for sale.

Former CEO Licht had tried to lift CNN's ratings by attracting more Republican viewers, after he took the reins in 2022 from longtime chief Jeff Zucker who resigned over his failure to disclose a consensual relationship with a colleague.

But Licht's efforts, including the Trump town hall, and a critical article in the Atlantic magazine sparked widespread employee backlash and contributed to his exit.

CNN's profit fell under $1 billion in 2022 and is expected to be modestly higher this year than last, at $938.6 million, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Those estimates are for the CNN networks that operate in the United States, including CNN en Español and CNN International.

During June, CNN's audience lagged behind Fox News and MSNBC in prime time and across the total day, according to data from Nielsen. (Reporting by Aditya Soni and Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)