ARTICLE: ABC News Sticking With ‘GMA3: What You Need to Know’ Despite Staff Cuts, Unimpressive Ratings & Industry Turmoil – REPORT

[Errol]

Despite laying off about 200 employees earlier this month, ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic recently held a town hall at the network’s new headquarters in the Hudson Square section of New York City, assuring staffers that the network is sticking with “GMA3: What You Need to Know” despite sagging ratings and a depressed news market in the second age of President Donald J. Trump.

“ABC News has no intention of doing away with ‘GMA3,’” a source is said to have told the New York Post, which first reported the news. “The hour is not going away, the show is not going away and the anchors aren’t going away.”

“GMA3: What You Need to Know
ABC News

Anchored by Eva Pilgrim and DeMarco Morgan since 2023, following the controversial departures of former co-anchors T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach, “GMA3” is often at or tied for last place in the key Women 18-49 and Women 25-54 sales demographics among all daytime broadcast shows, although it still manages to beat out the likes of “TODAY with Jenna & Friends” (formerly “TODAY with Hoda & Jenna”) and “NBC News Daily” among Total Viewers.

Almin Karamehmedovic
ABC News

In an internal memo sent out following last week’s town hall meeting, and obtained by the Post, Karamehmedovic told staffers, “The entire industry has been challenged, and restructuring the way we operate has, unfortunately, had an impact on some of our colleagues.” He added, “As we look ahead, our mission is simple: straightforward journalism.”

To help combat industry-wide challenges, the network merged all “Good Morning America” branded operations across all dayparts under the purview of the top-rated morning show’s executive producer, Simone Swink. Catherine McKenzie, who had been executive producer of “GMA3” since the current iteration’s debut in 2020, was among those cut. Overall, about 6% that also included Disney Entertainment Networks. Meanwhile, Seni Tienabeso was elevated to vice president of “ABC News Live,” the network’s 24/7 digital streaming news service, and structural changes were made to help consolidate the long-term content divisions that include ABC News Studios, “20/20,” “Nightline” and “Impact x Nightline,” among other programs, under one leadership umbrella.

About 30 staffers were let go from ABC News Studios and its digital department, with consolidations seeing news gathering and various editorial teams working closer than before. Similarly, the data-driven news platform FiveThirtyEight was shuttered with all 15 employees working for the operation let go.

During the hour-long meeting, Karamehmedovic also stated, “I have restructured the news division into three pillars to align with how audiences engage with us and how we can better serve them.” 

The reported “pillars” Karamehmedovic is said to have outlined include breaking news operations, the network’s signature news show “World News Tonight with David Muir” and long-form storytelling.

“We were called to journalism because we believe in its value in society,” Deadline reported Karamehmedovic had written in his memo to staff, acknowledging tension in the industry amid the highly volatile political landscape across news media with a new administration now in place in Washington, D.C. “The role of an independent press is essential, and we cannot take this for granted. For 70 years, ABC News has delivered exceptional reporting, interviews and analysis — this is why audiences turn to us. We must continue to prove our value to protect our future. We must earn their trust every single day by providing straightforward journalism.”

“Almin has devoted his career to ABC News, mastering every role and elevating excellence in journalism by connecting with viewers in a very meaningful and profound way that resonates with them,” said Debra OConnell, president, News Group and Networks, Disney Entertainment, to whom Karamehmedovic will continue to report, upon news of his taking over the role of ABC News president last summer. He officially replaced Kim Godwin after she was reportedly let go following her handling of the Holmes and Robach affair, among other reasons, which plagued the show at the time as headlines about their behind the scenes relationship got more coverage from other news outlets than even information reported on the daily news program could muster.

Before taking on his current role, Karamehmedovic had overseen the production and all daily operations of “World News Tonight with David Muir,” the most-watched newscast in America across broadcast and cable, and often, the No. 1 program on all of television, since August 2014. In January 2022, News Content Development, including short- and long-form projects on streaming and broadcast, was added to his purview as his role expanded from executive producer to senior executive producer.

ABC News

“World News Tonight with David Muir” continues to rank as the No. 1 evening newscast in Total Viewers and also ranks  No. 1 in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, the key sales demographics used for network news programming.

Launched in September 2018 as “GMA Day” following the network’s cancellation of “The Chew,” the daytime news show was originally hosted by Michael Strahan and Sara Haines before it was later retooled and rebranded as “GMA3: Strahan & Sara,” formally referencing itself as a third-hour of “Good Morning America” while putting more emphasis on its co-hosts.

By August 2019, actress and singer Keke Palmer had quickly become a fan favorite following her brief time filling in for Haines who had been on maternity leave. As such, Palmer was made a full-time co-host of the program to reward her contribution, with the show again rebranded to “GMA3: Strahan, Sara & Keke.” Sadly, with the emergence of Covid, production on the show was “temporarily suspended” in the spring of 2020, replaced by “Pandemic: What You Need to Know,” anchored by Amy Robach.

With the success of the straight news format, “GMA3: Strahan, Sara & Keke” was quietly canceled, with Haines returning full-time to “The View” and Strahan returning full-time to “Good Morning America,” as the show was permanently replaced by the rebranded “GMA3: What You Need to Know,” debuting in June 2010. By September 2010, T.J. Holmes was named co-anchor of the program working alongside Robach and then medical contributor Dr. Jennifer Ashton.

So far this season, “GMA3” is averaging 1.402 million viewers, topping both “NBC News Daily” and the since canceled “The Talk,” each averaging just 1.240 million viewers. Meanwhile, the ABC News program is up a mere +6% over last season’s average among Women 18-49 viewers (106,000 vs. 100,000).

During the week of March 10-14, 2025, the most recent week in which ratings data is available, the show averaged 1.330 million viewers with 93,000 of them falling in the Women 18-49 demo. Comparatively, “NBC News Daily” averaged 1.138 million viewers, but pulled in 103,000 viewers among Women 18-49, and also 146,000 among Women 25-54, topping “GMA3” among both metrics.

Note: The post ABC News Sticking With ‘GMA3: What You Need to Know’ Despite Staff Cuts, Unimpressive Ratings & Industry Turmoil – REPORT appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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[Soapsuds]

GMA3 was down in total viewers from last week. That's not a good sign.

I'm surprised they're sticking with show.

[Marco Dane]

Give it one year and a new soap will be premiering. 

[Soapsuds]

It would put a combination of Pyramid and Match Game in its timeslot or even Family Feud.

[Aragorn]

I would like a combination of a game show and a half hour soap leading into GH.

[te.]

To be fair, they have no other option as they have nothing in development. It's cheap and they can try retooling it, but it's obvious they're not happy with its performance. I said it in another thread that I don't think it's General Hospital's performance (which at least has the backend of streaming) they're worried for at the moment - it's GMA3's which rely entirely on its linear performance. 

[DRW50]

I think we need a long break from more Family Feuds. A Pyramid or something like Classic Concentration or Sale of the Century could be fun.

I'd really like a half hour soap too, unlikely as it is.

[ReddFoxx]

The odds may be low, but with Beyond The Gates doing so well it's not impossible to see ABC trying to come up with a majority Black soap opera to compete. GMA 3 is not going to last and ABC won't want to give that hour to the local stations.