‘GMA3’ anchor Eva Pilgrim departs for ‘Inside – Business News
“GMA3” anchor Eva Pilgrim on Monday ditched ABC News’ scandal-scarred third hour of its marquee morning show to take over as host of “Inside Edition” — and the company introduced that her co-anchor DeMarco Morgan was exiting the Disney-owned community as nicely.
The pair — who’ve seen their rankings decline since taking up the 1 p.m. time slot in 2023 following the surprising affair between married “GMA3” co-anchors TJ Holmes and Amy Robach, which led to their ouster — have been within the crosshairs of ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic for months because the community appears to be like to cut prices, The Post beforehand reported.
Pilgrim didn’t wait round for the axe to fall.
She will exchange longtime “Inside Edition” host Deborah Norville, who departed earlier this yr, CBS’ Media Ventures arm, which syndicates the long-running show, introduced Monday.
“GMA3” co-hosts DeMarco Morgan and Eva Pilgrim are rumored to be ousted from the ratings-challenged show. ABC
Hours after Pilgrim’s new gig turned public, Karamehmedovic informed “GMA3” staffers that Morgan was out, based on a memo obtained by The Post.
Morgan “has decided to begin a new journey and will be departing ABC News,” the memo mentioned.
Karamehmedovic thanked Morgan and Pilgrim for their contributions to the show, based on the memo.
ABC News didn’t touch upon what led to the shakeup.
A rep for ABC News mentioned that “GMA3” will use a rotating group of anchors from the “GMA” household transferring ahead.
Morgan, who joined the community in 2022, had not anchored “GMA3” in weeks, regardless of the show transferring to new headquarters in Hudson Square in Lower Manhattan.
ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic shook up
“GMA3” earlier this yr. Disney/Nathan Martin
Monday’s show was co-hosted by Rebecca Jarvis, Ginger Zee and Gio Benitez.
Morgan didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Pilgrim, who had labored at ABC News for more than a decade, will take the reins of “Inside Edition” within the fall — changing into simply the fourth host of the weekly investigative newsmagazine.
“GMA” co-hosts Michael Strahan, Robin Roberts, and George Stephanopoulos might probably be tapped to choose up the slack at “GMA3.” ABC
“Anchoring ‘Inside Edition’ is truly a dream job,” Pilgrim mentioned Monday. “I have been an avid viewer and fan of the show for many years. I’m pinching myself that I get to work with this amazing team. It’s truly an honor to join a show with such a long, rich history.”
Last yr, ABC News brass expressed alarm over a sequence of provocative images of Morgan posing in skin-tight biker shorts, during which the anchor’s “package” was on full show, The Post solely reported.
The buzzy Instagram pics, sadly, didn’t goose “GMA 3’s” rankings, which garnered an average of 1.35 million viewers this yr, based on the community.
In the previous few months of Robach and Holmes’ tenure, rankings have been within the 1.7 million-viewer vary.
ABC News famous that “GMA3” drew more viewers than CBS’ “The Talk” or “NBC News Daily” — which each drew round 1.2 million viewers — for the third straight season, although the show doesn’t go head-to-head with the others in lots of markets.
Eva Pilgrim is heading to “Inside Edition.” ABC
in March, ABC News laid off “GMA3” employees and consolidated its manufacturing beneath “GMA” — resulting in considerations not solely about Pilgrim’s and Morgan’s future, but in addition that of the show.
At the time, Karamehmedovic — who took over ABC News after Kim Godwin following a slew of high-profile gaffes — assured staffers that the show would stay on the air.
Morgan set social media ablaze along with his racy biker short images, however his bosses weren’t as
amused, sources informed The Post. DeMarco Morgan/Instagram
A source had informed The Post that Karamehmedovic might even faucet the extremely paid trio from the “GMA” mothership — Robin Roberts, Michael Strahan and George Stephanopoulos — to fill in.
“What we have said from the beginning is that we are unifying all day parts under the ‘GMA’ umbrella and team and that includes seeing all members of the extended ‘GMA’ family in the third hour,” a netwrok spokesperson informed The Post in April.
“The third hour is a valued part of the ‘GMA’ franchise. Robin, George and Michael have been on before and they will continue to be featured.”
