Staff at Disney-owned ABC News are bracing for major job cuts as the network makes drastic budget cuts, including to staff at its top-rated show, “Good Morning America,” according to information obtained by The Washington Post.
The Mouse House has asked “GMA” to cut its bottom line by as much as $19 million from its previous projection of $17 million by Sept. 30, when Disney’s fiscal year ends, insiders with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post.
Disney is expected to begin cutting jobs at its television division on Wednesday, cutting 140 positions across networks including National Geographic and Freeform. Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile, sources told The Post that the cuts at “GMA” won’t come from the eight-figure salaries of the show’s top talent, Robin Roberts, Michael Strahan and George Stephanopoulos.
The sources added that behind-the-scenes staff such as bookers and producers were likely to feel unfairly treated.
“They’re all on contract, so there won’t be cuts at that level,” a former ABC News executive said of the hosts, who are estimated to make $17 million to $18 million each, “but there will be cuts.”
ABC News declined to comment.
“GMA’s” planned cuts come as the show is being pushed aside by NBC’s “Today,” which ranks a close second in total viewers and consistently leads among viewers ages 25 to 54, a key advertising demographic.
According to Nielsen, in the second quarter of this year, “GMA” drew 2.8 million total viewers and 494,000 in the demo, while “Today” drew 2.7 million total viewers and 620,000 in the demo.
“GMA isn’t producing quality programming,” said a former ABC News executive. “They don’t have a lot of pre-recorded programming, they have a lot of live hits, [segments] I sell stuff in the studio.”
Beyond across-the-board cuts, both sources said, “GMA” and the network’s other programs could use local reporters instead of sending national correspondents to cover events, a tactic that’s becoming increasingly common at thrifty rivals like CBS News, which on Tuesday parted ways with longtime “Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell.
ABC News will implement a hiring freeze and likely not fill any vacant positions, the first source said.
There are already rumors circulating that ABC News Group & Network President Debra O’Connell will save a significant amount of money on one salary by not hiring an executive to replace former ABC News President Kim Godwin, who stepped down in May after a tumultuous three-year tenure.
Sources say Mr. O’Connell is likely to instead promote one of his lieutenants, a much more frugal option that would also allow him to provide internal oversight of the network.
Either way, the cuts come as O’Connell seeks to clean up the agency after Godwin’s rule, a plan that includes removing the former executive’s inner circle from the agency.
“It’s going to be very difficult,” the source said of the cuts. “The network is going to be stripped down to the bare bones.”
