Hold on to your corn flakes. There’s going to be turmoil at the breakfast table as television’s wake-up shows test viewer habits this fall.
Morning stalwarts Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson, comfortable as slippers, move to heavier lifting at the dinner hour. Meredith Viera joins Matt Lauer on “Today” in September. Diane Sawyer, still on “interim” duty going on seven years now, continues on “Good Morning America” with co-anchor Robin Roberts – the only two-woman morning team. New producers are on board, and the announcement of a male “GMA” correspondent is imminent.
Meanwhile, the slow CBS “Early Show” plods along. Pacing, people, pacing!
Prediction: NBC’s “Today” seems well positioned to continue its dominance, but ABC will aim to narrow the gap. Couric and Viera will do well for their respective new networks; CBS will have to recast its morning to take advantage of the Couric factor at night.
Two of the three network morning shows are in flux. The distant third – Julie Chen, Harry Smith, Hannah Storm and Rene Syler on “The Early Show” continue to show up for work – ought to be.
On a recent morning, Lauer grimaced during Martha Stewart’s antipasto spiel, seemingly counting the seconds. His body language suggested Viera’s addition can’t come too soon.
When there’s heavy news, “Today” typically extends its lead. During the week of July 17, 5.2 million viewers watched “Today’s” Middle East coverage with Ann Curry reporting from Beirut. “Today” led “GMA” by nearly 1 million viewers. Both “GMA” and “The Early Show” saw a decline in viewership compared with the previous week.
To fans, the weekday rundown of headlines, weather, book-plugging interviews and celebrity chat is as indispensable as the coffee maker. Morning TV is the only part of the network schedule rising and shining, generating increasing advertising income.
Together NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “GMA” and CBS’s “Early Show” account for the biggest pile of ad revenue in television, more than $1 billion a year. “Today” consistently snared the bulk of that treasure. The Katie-
cast pulled in roughly $554 million last year. Now, as you might have heard, Couric has graduated to evenings on CBS beginning Sept. 5. To the folks at “GMA,” her absence in the morning looks like an opening.
ABC’s “GMA” recently revamped behind the scenes, naming former “CBS Evening News” executive producer Jim Murphy as senior executive producer and “GMA” veteran producer Tom Cibrowski as executive producer. Next “GMA” will add one of the men trying out this summer: Bill Weir (“GMA Weekend”), Bill Ritter (WABC in New York) and Chris Cuomo (ABC’s “Primetime” and son of the former New York governor). The job description has evolved beyond news reader.
“It’s much more than doing the news block,” Murphy said. “All of the rules are being broken in the morning. It’s hyper-competitive, as you know.”
It’s a chance for the long-running programs to evolve new personalities.
The biggest switch of the lot, of course, is “Today’s,” the first anchor change on morning television’s top-rated program since 1997. Viera has journalistic credentials as a former “60 Minutes” contributor. As a graduate of “The View” and host of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” she’s got the silly vamping chops too. Altogether, a plus for NBC.
The folks at CBS claim Couric could do so well as an evening anchor that her draw will spill over to the morning. Competitors are guessing CBS will use Couric as a frequent “Early Show” guest or contributor to take full advantage.
The wild card seems to be ABC. When Gibson left “GMA” in June to become anchor of “ABC World News,” rumors flew concerning Sawyer’s feelings about being left behind.
“She loves the show,” incoming boss Murphy said. “It’s been a wonderful surprise to see how involved she is. She has more ideas and production skill than any anchor I’ve worked with.” And the CBS veteran has worked with most of them.
So how will “GMA” make its run at “Today”?
“We’ve got some ideas,” Murphy said.
TV critic Joanne Ostrow can be reached at 303-820-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com.
