ABC names new top producer for ‘Good Morning America’

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ABC News has named its pick to lead “Good Morning America.”

The network announced Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, that Simone Swink, a longtime senior level staffer at the show, will become the show’s executive producer, according to memo from ABC News president Kim Godwin.

The memo and some sources report that Swink’s title as “senior producer” but her official Twitter account’s bio has been updated to read “executive producer.”

Swink replaces Michael Corn, who abruptly left the network in April 2021 with no explanation. However, just last week, a lawsuit from a former “GMA” staffer accused Corn of sexual harassment.

Corn has denied any wrongdoing and it is not clear if his departure from ABC was related to the impending lawsuit. Since then, Corn was hired to lead Nexstar’s flailing NewsNation effort.

“GMA” is currently leads “Today” in total viewers on most weeks, though “Today” often bests ABC in the key adults 25-54 demo.

However, network TV shows in general have seen declines in viewership in general as broadcasters adjust to a changing TV landscape. Many shows are also down significantly this summer over 2020 when news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic was in huge demand.

Meanwhile, “Today” has made strategic moves into digital, including a dedicated streaming channel and podcasts. ABC runs ABC News Live, which does feature “GMA” content, but hasn’t gone to the lengths of creating a dedicated streaming channel for the show.

In fairness, “Today All Day,” the name NBC uses for the streaming channel, hasn’t exactly resonated with advertisers, which it depends on ti make money — many of its commercial breaks are filled mostly with network promos.