Tamron Hall’s new show gains ABC O&O clearances
ABC 7 to carry local show in unspecified time period
In an expected move, Disney/ABC’s new Tamron Hall daytime talk show strip has found a home on the eight ABC-owned-and-operated stations, covering 23 percent of the country.
In addition to ABC 7 here (WLS-TV), other clearances include WABC in New York, KABC in Los Angeles, WPVI in Philadelphia, and KTRK in Houston.
Both Disney/ABC Domestic Television and the ABC-owned stations group are owned by The Walt Disney Company.
The former WFLD-TV reporter/anchor and Today show host made it official via Twitter Monday (click to play video):
I’m thrilled to announce my partnership with the ABC Owned Television Stations to launch my new @Disney and @ABCEntertainment talk show next fall! Here’s a sneak peek of what we’re cooking up for you all! pic.twitter.com/lOPJAJIWKS
— Tamron Hall (@tamronhall) September 24, 2018
With ABC7 acquiring the show in the deal, it is not clear where the show would end up on the schedule as Hall’s show did not announce any time periods. When Disney-ABC announced Katie Couric’s talk show several years ago, it mandated ABC-owned stations to air the show at 3 p.m. as a news lead-in, forcing Inside Edition and Jeopardy! to shift an hour earlier for two years in a move unpopular with viewers.
One possible target for the show is the 1 p.m. time slot now occupied by local talk show Windy City Live, but the show is a hit and a major part of ABC 7’s identity, so it won’t be a given. Windy has had three time slots since its 2011 debut, originally debuting at 9 a.m. before getting bumped to 11 a.m. in 2013 after WLS acquired Live With Kelly and Michael (now Ryan as in Ryan Seacrest), cancelling a midday newscast. The newscast returned to 11 a.m. in June 2016 after Windy City Live was moved to 1 p.m. to replace the canceled FAB Life, also from Disney-ABC. If anything, Hall could wind up in a post-midnight time slot.
Recently, ABC introduced a new third hour of Good Morning America titled GMA Day, airing at noon local time, forcing the cancellation of The Chew after seven seasons. If you’ve seen the show, it’s basically a Live clone.
The announcement is the second one in several days regarding future fall 2019 talk show projects, with Kelly Clarkson’s new daytime gabfest getting the green light after being pre-sold to the NBC-owned stations, including NBC 5 (WMAQ) here. Reports were widely circulated Clarkson’s talk show would get the 2 p.m. lead-in slot to Ellen replacing Steve, but no official decision has been made.
Despite the frequent schedule changes since 2011 when longtime stalwarts All My Children and One Life To Live were canceled and Oprah Winfrey retired from her talk show, ABC 7 has remained the top-rated station in daytime.