It’s time for a fourth grouping of anchors at ABC News’ “GMA3.”
The Disney-backed news outlet is overhauling — yet again — the anchor lineup for the afternoon hour, this time likely giving more air time to various anchors and correspondents from “Good Morning America,” including weekend hosts such as Gio Benitez orthe weekday broadcast’s Ginger Zee. On Monday, current co-anchor Eva Pilgrim announced a move to CBS’ “Inside Edition,” while ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic told staffers in a memo that her on-screen colleague, DeMarco Morgan, was leaving the show and the company.
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“He has decided to begin a new journey and will be departing ABC News,” the executive said in his memo. The exits of Morgan and Pilgrim were previously reported by the media newsletter Status.
“GMA3” was in recent months placed under the aegis of “Good Morning America” senior executive producer Simone Swink, and its production staff was trimmed. ABC News has grouped its overnight programming and “3” with its flagship morning franchise in a bid to cut costs and streamline processes. Meanwhile, ABC News has been broadening its spotlight on “GMA” talent, highlighting more than the show’s core anchor group of George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan. A recent promo had room for the trio, but also for Zee, Sam Champion and Lara Spencer.
In recent weeks, viewers have seen “GMA3” broadcasts led by Spencer, Champion, Benitez, Whit Johnson, Janai Norman and Will Reeve as well as ABC News correspondents like James Longman and Rachel Scott. The network sees new opportunity to bring the afternoon program closer to the morning show, according to three people familiar with the matter, and it’s possible that Roberts, Strahan and Stephanopoulos could turn up in the afternoons where such appearances make sense, like if they are reporting live from a news scene.
“GMA3″ has had several incarnations since debuting at ABC in 2018. The show has long been viewed as a way to expand the network’s massive “Good Morning America” franchise, and help it compete more directly with NBC’s “Today,” which sports four hours of programming each weekday and more on weekends. The show launched as a lifestyle-news vehicle with Michael Strahan and Sara Haines, but pivoted to a more headline-driven format during the coronavirus pandemic.
“GMA3” seemed to thrive when it was led by co-anchors Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, who were bolstered by medical and health reporting from Dr. Jen Ashton. But the program came under intense scrutiny when a romantic relationship between Holmes and Robach was unveiled, and ABC News executives failed to manage the imbroglio well. In recent years, Pilgrim and DeMarco Morgan have led “GMA3,” but their version of the program may have seemed less an extension of the original and more of its own separate entity.
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