Reality TV
Kelly Ripa Beats Michael Strahan In The Ratings War Between ‘Live’ And ‘GMA Day’
The arrival of Michael Strahan on ABC’s morning show Live! heralded in a new ratings high for the show, and seemed to set Live! With Kelly and Michael on what would be a long-running path. But four years in, the decision was made to take Michael from that show and transfer him over to Good Morning America to help boost its ratings (which it did). The big question, of course, is what his departure would do to Live!.
The addition of Ryan Seacrest has, thankfully, allowed the series to do very well. And in fact, that’s where the current big news comes in: Live! With Kelly and Ryan is regularly beating Michael’s Good Morning America spin-off show, GMA Day, in the ratings. Admittedly the show has only been on the air since Sept. 10 (replacing The Chew), but so far it’s been losing in that war between the shows. According to Nielsen’s ratings, GMA Day has been reaching 1.76 million viewers while Live! has been reaching 2.85 million.
Page Six quotes a source as saying, “Michael is having a great time working at GMA and GMA Day. He isn’t worried at all. He recognizes that GMA Day is a new show, and sometimes it takes a minute to get it going. He loves working with [co-host Sara Haines] and the new team and is very happy being there.”
Scroll down to check out a Brief History of Live!
1988-2000: Live With Regis and Kathie Lee
The chemistry between Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford was undeniable, and the show was doing great. However, controversy over her clothing line and her husband, Frank Gifford, having an affair with a flight attendant, turned her into a media target. On July 28, 2000, she announced her departure from the show. Now, of course, she co-hosts the fourth hour of NBC’s Today with Hoda Kotb.
2000-2001: Live With Regis
For a year, while looking for a permanent co-host, a number of contenders were brought in. Ultimately Kelly was the one chosen, which was announced on Feb. 5, 2001.
2001-2011: Live! With Regis and Kelly
The show’s younger demographic reportedly had an 80 percent increase, which was credited to Kelly’s arrival. They enjoyed a decade on the air together, but on Jan. 28, 2011, he announced he would be leaving the show, his last appearance being on Nov. 18 of that year.
MICHAEL STRAHAN, SARA HAINES
2011-2012: Live! With Kelly
Over the course of the year, Kelly was joined by 60 men and women as co-hosts. In July of 2012, People had a story stating that Michael Strahan was in the final running.
2012-2016: Live With Kelly and Michael
He made his 16th appearance on the Sept. 4, 2012, episode, where Michael was announced as co-host. On April 19, 2016, ABC made the announcement that he would be leaving the show to join Good Morning America, though somehow they’d neglected to let Kelly know ahead of time. She was not happy as she was out the day the announcement was made. Michael stayed with the show until May 13, 2016.
2016-2017: Live With Kelly
A new wave of co-hosts joined Kelly as ABC tried to find someone permanent.
2017-Present: Live With Kelly and Ryan
It became official on May 1, 2017, that Ryan Seacrest would be joining the show as co-host.
Keep reading to check out a brief History of Michael Strahan on ABC!
The former football defensive who was a part of the New York Giants for 15 years, first co-hosted Live! With Regis and Kelly on Oct. 1, 2010, sitting in for Regis Philbin. Between November 2011 and September 2012, he made 20 appearances and was then announced as permanent co-host. Live! With Kelly and Michael made its debut on Sept. 4 of that year. The ratings growth was instant and the network had a hit. But then the decision was made to move Michael over to Good Morning America, which was announced on April 19, 2016. Two years later, also began co-hosting with Sara Haines GMA Day, a daily talk show spin-off of Good Morning America.
