ABC News to launch new show on Disney+
Published: Updated:
A pair of fresh-faced correspondents have been tapped to co-host a new daily streaming show for ABC News as the network faces stiff competition from its rivals. Rachel Scott and James Longman will co-anchor 'What You Need to Know' on Disney+, which debuts on July 21 and airs each weekday at 6 a.m. ET.
The show, which is the first original news show designed for the streaming service, arrives as networks attempt to recapture young consumers who have fled TV for streaming. Last week, ABC World News Tonight host David Muir, 51, was beaten by NBC News' new primetime host Tom Llamas in the key 25-54 demographic for the first time. An insider at the time told the Daily Mail that ABC execs were already unsettled by Llamas' impact during his first month as Nightly News host.
ABC's Good Morning America - while barely ahead of Today in total viewers - is trailing NBC in the advertiser-coveted group as well. The morning show is led by the network's other fixture, George Stephanopoulos, formerly ABC News' chief anchor, who now co-hosts GMA with Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan. He once was ABC News' chief anchor but is no longer. All three turned down a chance to host the television network's troubled afternoon edition of the morning show, known as GMA3, sources told Daily Mail in April.
The new Disney+ show boasts GMA3's old tagline as its title. 'It's the first thing you will see on Disney+ as you wake up,' ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic told Variety on Monday, describing a more short-form format that combines breaking news, entertainment segments, and viral videos, Each episode will be available on demand for 24 hours before refreshing with a new episode.
'Americans have a lot going on in their lives. They want to stay up to speed on what's happening, not only here at home, but also internationally as well,' added Scott, a 32-year-old senior political correspondent for the network. 'And sometimes they don't have a lot of time to do it. And so, this is going to be just the platform for them to get up to speed on the top stories.'
Longman, the network's 39-year-old London-based chief international correspondent, added: 'I'm going to be able to do this wherever I go in the world. 'I could have been doing it from Iraq, when Israel attacked Iran. I could have been doing it for from Ukraine. 'So, this is a way to take the audience with us into the places we're going, yes, to tell them what's going on in the world in the United States, but also give them that a little bit of insight into what we're doing every single day.' Both will retain their regular roles while co-hosting the new show.
Disney+ currently airs live breaking news and replays of Good Morning America, Nightline, and World News Tonight. The new show will not air on ABC, the network confirmed, unlike the struggling GMA3, which has recently seen a revolving door of co-hosts following the abrupt exits of co-hosts Eva Pilgrim and DeMarco Morgan. On-air talents from other hours and elsewhere across the network have been asked to host the show more frequently in what a source described to the Daily Mail as an 'evolution of the show.'
In March, a network spokesperson told that Daily Mail that ABC News was in the process of ' unifying all day parts under the GMA umbrella and team.' ABC's next timeslot is held by The View, whose mainstay Whoopi Goldberg last week whined that her job can 'feel like hell' after returning from a two-week break following backlash over her controversial comments on Iran.
Muir, meanwhile, has been a primetime mainstay for 11 years, succeeding Diane Sawyer in 2014 when World News Tonight still trailed NBC in total viewers. Muir has held the primetime crown for the past nine years running. But three straight weeks of growth with total viewers under his rival, Llamas, have caught the attention of ABC News bosses, a source told the Daily Mail last week. 'There is a growing concern that Muir's once-apparent predecessor is already showing promising signs - and it's starting to reflect in the ratings,' the source said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Labubu fans dote over ugly-cute doll trending at Comic-Con
SAN DIEGO, July 27 (Reuters) - San Diego Comic-Con is the latest location where the ugly-cute dolls named Labubu have been trending, with fans carrying the plushies globally popularized by celebrities Rihanna, Lizzo, Dua Lipa, and Lisa from the K-pop group Blackpink. The wide-eyed and grinning doll was created in 2015 by Hong Kong artist and illustrator Kasing Lung. In 2019, Lung allowed them to be sold by Pop Mart ( opens new tab, a Chinese toy company that sells collectible figurines, often in "blind boxes". "Blind boxes" are sealed boxes containing a surprise item that is usually part of a themed collection. Naomi Galban, from San Diego, waited in line on Sunday at the Pop Mart booth in the San Diego Convention Center for a chance to get her first Labubu. "Every time I go to a Pop Mart store, they're sold out," the 24-year-old told Reuters. She hoped to buy one for her little sister. Emily Brough, Pop Mart's Head of IP Licensing, spoke to Reuters on Thursday about Labubu fans at Comic-Con. "We love to see how fans are personalizing it (Labubu) for themselves," Brough said next to the Pop Mart booth. While Brough noted that there were many people with a Labubu strapped to their bags and backpacks at Comic-Con, the doll's popularity did not happen overnight. Labubus had a huge boost in 2019 after Pop Mart began selling them, and in 2024, when Blackpink's Lisa, who is Thai, created a buying frenzy in Thailand after she promoted Labubu on social media. Pop Mart saw sales skyrocket in North America that same year, with revenue in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2025 already surpassing the full-year U.S. revenue from 2024, Pop Mart said. When he created Labubu, Lung gave the character, who is female, a backstory inspired by Nordic mythology. He called her and his other fictional creatures "The Monsters." Diana Goycortua, 25, first discovered Labubu through social media, and before she knew it, it felt like a "game" to try and collect the dolls. "It's a little bit of gambling with what you're getting," the Labubu fan from San Diego said on Sunday while waiting at the Pop Mart booth, concluding that her love for the character made it worth trying blind boxes. Goycortua already has three Labubus, and was hoping to score her a fourth one at Comic-Con.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
What to Stream: Reneé Rapp, 'The Phoenician Scheme,' Elvis rarities, Anthony Mackie and Jason Momoa
Benicio Del Toro starring in Wes Anderson's 'The Phoenician Scheme'and Reneé Rapp 's second studio album are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time, as selected by The Associated Press' entertainment journalists: Jason Momoa brings his passion project 'Chief of War' to Apple TV+, there's a coxy Hobbit video game in Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game and 'Project Runway' tries out a new network home for its 21st season. New movies to stream from July 28-Aug. 3 – Wes Anderson's 'The Phoenician Scheme' (streaming now on Peacock) stars Benicio Del Toro as Anatole 'Zsa-zsa' Korda, a wealthy and unscrupulous European industrialist. After the latest assassination attempt on his life, he decides to leave his estate to one of his many children, Lisel (Mia Threapleton), a novitiate. Michael Cera co-stars as a Norwegian insect expect named Bjørn. In her review, the AP's Jocelyn Noveck wrote that the film finds Anderson 'becoming even more, well, Wes Anderson than before.' – The Netflix romance 'My Oxford Year' (streaming Friday, Aug. 1) follows a young American student named Anna (Sofia Carson) in her long-dreamt-of year at Oxford University. Corey Mylchreest co-stars as a local love interest in the film directed by Iain Morris. – Movie soundtracks once played so much more of a role in popular culture. A new series on the Criterion Channel collects some of the films from the soundtrack's heyday, the 1990s, when songs from movies like 'Trainspotting' (1996) and 'Singles' (1992) dominated the airwaves and MTV. Also running this month on Criterion are 'Grosse Pointe Blank' (1997), 'So I Married an Axe Murderer' (1993) and 'Judgement Night' (1993). — AP Film Writer Jake Coyle New music to stream from July 28-Aug. 3 — The King of Rock 'n' Roll has returned. On Friday, Aug. 1, to celebrate what would've been Elvis Presley's 90th birthday year, a massive collection of 89 rarities will be released as a five-disc CD boxset – and on all digital platforms. Titled 'Sunset Boulevard,' the series pulls from Presley's 1970-1975 Los Angeles recording sessions and rehearsals at RCA's studios. There is no greater gift for the Elvis aficionado. — Reneé Rapp will release her second studio album on Friday, Aug. 1, the appropriately titled 'Bite Me.' The 12-track release is imbued with Rapp's edgy, lighthearted spirit — catchy R&B-pop songs about bad breakups and good hookups abound. It'll put some pep in your step. — AP Music Writer Maria Sherman New series to stream from July 28-Aug. 3 — 'Project Runway' has had quite a life since it debuted in 2004 on Bravo. After its first six seasons, the competition show about fashion design moved to Lifetime for 11 seasons, then back to Bravo for a few years, and its new home for season 21 is Freeform. Christian Siriano — who won the show's fourth season — is an executive producer, mentor and judge. He joins 'Project Runway' OG host Heidi Klum, celebrity stylist extraordinaire Law Roach and fashion editor Nina Garcia. It premieres Thursday and streams on Disney+ and Hulu. — Comedian Leanne Morgan stars in her own multi-cam sitcom for Netflix called 'Leanne,' debuting Thursday. Inspired by her own stand-up, Morgan plays a woman whose husband leaves her for another woman after more than three decades of marriage. Morgan stars alongside sitcom vets Kristen Johnston and Tim Daly. — Anthony Mackie's 'Twisted Metal' is back on Peacock for a second season of beginning Thursday. The show is adapted from a popular video game franchise and picks up about 7 months after the events of season one. —Jason Momoa brings his passion project 'Chief of War' to Apple TV+ on Friday, Aug. 1. Set in the late 18th century, Momoa plays Kauai, a nobleman and warrior, who plays a major part in the unification of the Hawaiian islands. The series is based on true events and is told from an Indigenous point-of-view. — Alicia Rancilio New video games to play from July 28-Aug. 3 — Games set in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth usually want to drag us back to Mount Doom for another confrontation with the Dark Lord. But what if you're a Hobbit who just wants to hang out with your friends in your peaceful village? That's your mission in Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game. It's a cozy sim from Weta Workshop, the company behind the special effects in Peter Jackson's films. You can grow a garden, go fishing, trade with your neighbors and — most important for a Hobbit — cook and eat. It's about as far from Mordor as it gets, and you can start decorating your own Hobbit Hole on Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch or PC.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Michael J. Fox's forgotten fling with Nancy McKeon sparked friendship with future Melrose Place star
Michael J. Fox has long been pals with Doug Savant, as they met via The Facts of Life star Nancy McKeon, who Fox dated in the mid-1980s. Savant, 61, chat about his longtime friendship with Fox, 64, to People at Lifetime's Summer Soirée event, held at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel July 16. Savant spoke with the outlet in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the August 1985 release of the comedy Teen Wolf. Savant - who would find fame playing Matt Fielding on the nighttime soap Melrose Place in the 1990s - appeared in the film as a rookie actor opposite Fox. Fox was one of the biggest stars of the 1980s with his roles as Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties and time traveling teen Marty McFly in the Back To The Future franchise. In the movie, Savant portrayed of Brad, a classmate and basketball teammate of Fox's lead character, Scott Howard, a teenage high school student who had the ability to transform into a wolf. Savant expounded to the outlet about his connection to Fox through McKeon - and how it tied into his Southern California roots. 'I grew up in Burbank, California, and I went to school with Philip McKeon and Nancy McKeon – Nancy McKeon from Facts of Life and Phil McKeon from Alice,' Savant said. 'And we were dear friends.' Savant said that he didn't tell Fox about his connection with McKeon, 59, specifically in an effort not to bother the star. 'I just wanted to do my job and be professional, but I had not said anything, said Savant, who also is known for playing Tom Scavo on the hit ABC series Desperate Housewives. Savant said that a week into production, Fox figured out the connection and confronted him about it. 'He went home and Nancy asked, "Who's in the movie with you? Let me see the call sheet." And she said, "Doug Savant? We were family friends."' Savant added, 'One day, Michael comes to work, he says, "Why didn't you tell me that?" He was upset with me that I had not told him.' After that, a fast friendship formed, according to Savant, who said that he 'had a great time' working with the beloved actor on Teen Wolf. Savant said that he looks back with nostalgia on his work on the motion picture: 'I have such great memories from that film.' He added of the movie's longevity: ' The movie has had a stunning lifetime, and people love it. 'They made sequels, and it resonated. So I'm just grateful to have been a small part of it. Savant said the movie was on TV while he was working on a new project and jarred his nostalgia. He recalled: 'The craft service person would play movies, and he puts on Teen Wolf. And there I was doing my job on a new show, but watching Teen Wolf in the craft service trailer.' Fox in 1985 met actress Tracy Pollan, who worked with him on Family Ties, but 'their relationship remained platonic, however, as they were both dating other people at the time,' People reported. They commenced dating after working together again on the 1988 movie Bright Lights, Big City, and married that same year. Fox and Pollan are parents to four adult children: son Sam Michael, 36, twin daughters Aquinnah Kathleen and Schuyler Frances, 30, and daughter Esmé Annabelle, 23. The Back To The Future star was 29 in 1991 when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and went public with the information in 1998. He has spent the years since working tirelessly on charitable efforts toward funding research with a cure in mind.
