ABC News is thought to be considering a consolidation of its Good Morning America and GMA3 teams in move that will likely lead to layoffs.
The talks were first reported late Monday, hours after insiders told the New York Post how longtime anchor George Stephanopoulos is ‘miserable’ at the network.
At the Disney-owned channel’s daily editorial meeting on Monday network chief Almin Karamehmedovic celebrated five years since the rollout of the news channel’s streaming service, ABC News Live.
While speaking at the channel’s Manhattan HQ, Karamehmedovic revealed how Debra OConnell, the Disney executive in charge of the network, was in Southern California showing bosses her long-term plans for the network.
The news, reported by the Status newsletter, comes as the network seeks to address waning ratings. Insiders told Status’s Oliver Darcy how Karamehmedovic assured staffers that OConnell ‘was [there] fighting the good fight’.
CNN recently laid off close to 200 people as part of a shift to a more digital-focused model, while losing stalwart staffers like Darcy and Jim Acosta to independent ventures.
Layoffs were also seen at NBC News’s office at 30 Rock, which has lost longtime Meet the Press host Chuck Todd to his own podcasting endeavor. There were already layoffs at ABC just months ago as cable news continues its decline.
Seemingly at a crossroads when it comes to strategy, ABC News is considering streamlining its best-rated program as part of a pivot to streaming. Karamehmedovic’s comment, which was intended to comfort staffers, instead has them worried.
Disney-owned ABC News is said to be considering a consolidation of its GMA and GMA3 teams
Almin Karamehmedovic told journalists that Debra OConnell, the Disney executive in charge of the network, was in Southern California showing bosses her long-term plans for the network.
‘Given the widespread unease inside ABC News about looming cuts, the disclosure that OConnell was out west “fighting” for the Magic Kingdom’s news division raised eyebrows,’ Darcy wrote, after receiving word from people familiar with the matter.
While OConnell visiting the West Coast is far from out of the ordinary but staffers are said to be ‘nervous’ anyway.
‘Meetings about ABC News’s long-term future during this consequential period do carry added significance,’ Darcy wrote, describing the channel’s current situation as being ‘make or break’ in nature.
In October, 75 staffers at Disney’s combined ABC News and local affiliate stations were laid off, as part of ongoing restructuring by the parent company.
As part of this plan, Karamehmedovic and other high-ranking figures at ABC News considered the idea of streaming “GMA” – considered its ratings crown jewel alongside ABC World News Tonight – on both Disney+ and Hulu, insiders told Darcy.
However, that plan was said to have been met with pushback thanks to those very same local stations, who depend on the program for viewership and ad revenue.
As cable continues to be supplanted by streaming and other digital platforms over-the-air affiliates remain a key source of revenue, making a streamlined shift to a more digital future more prickly.
The news comes as the network, like many others, seeks to address waning ratings that have left GMA behind daytime rival Today
George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts are two of the network’s biggest names
GMA3 is hosted by Michael Strahan and Sara Haines, who is also a panelist on The View
Who could be on the chopping block was not specified.
CNN is in the middle of its own long-in-the works restructuring plan – one that will emphasize its digital footprint rather than the cable channel.
In a statement issued last month, CNN boss Mark Thompson revealed plans to roll out a streaming service and for a greater emphasis on vertical videos like those seen widely on Instagram.
Both will feature the station’s biggest stars.
He also warned how the future of the network was still unclear. It came after he is said to have demanded a shift in the tone of reporting around Donald Trump.
Thompson also revealed another digital venture set to come out later this year: a subscription service for ‘lifestyle’ content focused in food and fitness. He refused to offer any more details.
SpinCo CEO Mark Lazarus, the new boss of the media conglomerate that oversees MSNBC, also expressed such a desire amid their own post-election slump, newsletters Status and The Ankler both reported.
President Rashida Jones is leaving the company, revealing in a statement last month how she ‘shared [the] decision with Mark [Lazarus],’ and the he was being ‘incredibly supportive’.
GMA is considered the channel’s ratings crown jewel alongside ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (pictured)
A few weeks before, Lazarus told high-level staffers that in addition to more Republican voices on the network, he was considering running opinion programming during the day, The Ankler reported.
The changes may come with pay cuts for longtime opinion hosts like Joy Reid and Stephanie Ruhle, the newsletter stated.
Weeks earlier, the CEO was said to have slashed Rachel Maddow’s pay by some $5 million per year after she agreed to stay with the network for another five years while returning to the airwaves five days a week for the first months of Trump’s presidency.
Over on ABC, GMA3, which is also known as GMA3: What You Need to Know, is hosted by Michael Strahan and Sara Haines. It is thought the team behind this spinoff could be merged with the main GMA workforce.
Stephanopoulos, who also hosts This Week, is said to be ‘miserable’ at the network after it paid President Donald Trump a $16 million settlement over his remarks about the president.
Stephanopoulos erroneously claimed on-air that the Donald Trump was found ‘liable for rape’. The correct phrasing would have been that he was found liable for sexual abuse in relation to the claims of the writer E Jean Carroll.
Stephanopoulos, who also hosts This Week, is said to be ‘miserable’ at the network
Stephanopoulos and top-earner Muir have been said to be secretly at odds for years
His main gig at ABC continues to be his co-anchor spot on Good Morning America. Him and top-earner David Muir have been clashing behind the scenes, insiders told Darcy back in December.
Since the lawsuit, Stephanopoulos has been left ‘apoplectic’ and ‘humiliated’, sources told Page Six.
Insiders added that Jonathan Karl, one of Stephanopoulos’s two co-hosts, sees it as an opportunity to take a more prominent position in the show.
