Disney plans to exit ‘Good Morning America’ from Times Square Studio
ABC
Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos and Michael Strahan will soon have to greet ABC morning viewers from distinctly different locations.
As part of a major relocation by the Walt Disney Co., all of the company’s New York assets will be moved in 2025 to a building in the district known as Hudson Square in downtown New York. This includes several programs already offered by well-known studios, such as “GMA” and “Live with Kelly and Mark.” Although the move is not expected to take effect anytime soon, staffers are already beginning to realize how it will affect the show’s place in TV’s nonstop morning news wars.
“‘Good Morning America’ is defined by the strength of our teams in front of and behind the camera, the quality of our reporting and our long and trusted relationships with our viewers,” ABC News said in a statement. “Relocating the entire ABC News team to a new, state-of-the-art building was a strategic decision that will allow for more collaboration and innovation.” The New York Post previously reported on GMA’s move out of town. It was reported that a change was imminent.
For some staff, the move may spur optimism. After all, Disney CEO Bob Iger has hinted that the company is interested in selling ABC. But Disney’s plan to move “GMA” to a new environment suggests the company wants to keep its programming, and even ABC News as a whole, even if the network’s linear infrastructure is taken over by another entity. It may suggest that.
Times Square has helped boost “GMA” in a years-long battle with NBC’s “Today” for AM viewers. “Today” regularly sends anchors to NBC’s headquarters in midtown Manhattan to talk to passersby. “GMA” inherited some of that spirit when it set up a studio in Times Square and allowed some city residents to peer through giant windows facing the street. At one time, “GMA” had a live audience in the studio during his second hour of the show, and the remaining audience members were allowed to briefly chat with Roberts and Ginger. In 2021, “CBS Morning” moved to a studio across the street. In other words, once “GMA” ends, the third-place morning show could gain new attention in Midtown.
“Good Morning America” has surpassed “Today” in overall viewership in recent years, and the NBC show continues to lead in the key demographic of 25-to-54-year-olds. But under executive producer Simone Swink, “GMA” has made new inroads into the demo, the audience most desired by news advertisers.
Just because Disney is moving downtown doesn’t mean “GMA” is abandoning the rest of New York City.Producers plan to continue sending hosts to locations throughout the Big Apple and other cities across the U.S., a person familiar with the show said.
