“GMA3” anchor Eva Pilgrim on Monday ditched ABC News’ scandal-scarred third hour of its marquee morning show to take over as host of “Inside Edition” — and the company announced that her co-anchor DeMarco Morgan was exiting the Disney-owned network as well.
The pair — who have seen their ratings decline since taking over the 1 p.m. time slot in 2023 following the shocking affair between married “GMA3” co-anchors TJ Holmes and Amy Robach, which led to their ouster — have been in the crosshairs of ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic for months as the network looks to cut costs, The Post previously reported.
Pilgrim didn’t wait around for the axe to fall.
She will replace longtime “Inside Edition” host Deborah Norville, who departed earlier this year, CBS’ Media Ventures arm, which syndicates the long-running show, announced Monday.
Hours after Pilgrim’s new gig became public, Karamehmedovic told “GMA3” staffers that Morgan was out, according to a memo obtained by The Post.
Morgan “has decided to begin a new journey and will be departing ABC News,” the memo said.
Karamehmedovic thanked Morgan and Pilgrim for their contributions to the show, according to the memo.
ABC News did not comment on what led to the shakeup.
A rep for ABC News said that “GMA3” will use a rotating group of anchors from the “GMA” family moving forward.
Morgan, who joined the network in 2022, had not anchored “GMA3” in weeks, despite the show moving to new headquarters in Hudson Square in Lower Manhattan.
“GMA3” earlier this year. Disney/Nathan Martin
Monday’s show was co-hosted by Rebecca Jarvis, Ginger Zee and Gio Benitez.
Morgan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Pilgrim, who had worked at ABC News for more than a decade, will take the reins of “Inside Edition” in the fall — becoming just the fourth host of the weekly investigative newsmagazine.
“Anchoring ‘Inside Edition’ is truly a dream job,” Pilgrim said Monday. “I have been an avid viewer and fan of the show for many years. I’m pinching myself that I get to work with this amazing team. It’s truly an honor to join a show with such a long, rich history.”
Last year, ABC News brass expressed alarm over a series of provocative photos of Morgan posing in skin-tight biker shorts, in which the anchor’s “package” was on full display, The Post exclusively reported.
The buzzy Instagram pics, unfortunately, did not goose “GMA 3’s” ratings, which garnered an average of 1.35 million viewers this year, according to the network.
In the last few months of Robach and Holmes’ tenure, ratings were in the 1.7 million-viewer range.
ABC News noted that “GMA3” drew more viewers than CBS’ “The Talk” or “NBC News Daily” — which both drew around 1.2 million viewers — for the third straight season, though the show doesn’t go head-to-head with the others in many markets.
in March, ABC News laid off “GMA3” staff and consolidated its production under “GMA” — leading to concerns not only about Pilgrim’s and Morgan’s future, but also that of the show.
At the time, Karamehmedovic — who took over ABC News after Kim Godwin following a slew of high-profile gaffes — assured staffers that the show would remain on the air.
amused, sources told The Post. DeMarco Morgan/Instagram
A source had told The Post that Karamehmedovic could even tap the highly paid trio from the “GMA” mothership — Robin Roberts, Michael Strahan and George Stephanopoulos — to fill in.
“What we have said from the beginning is that we are unifying all day parts under the ‘GMA’ umbrella and team and that includes seeing all members of the extended ‘GMA’ family in the third hour,” a netwrok spokesperson told The Post in April.
“The third hour is a valued part of the ‘GMA’ franchise. Robin, George and Michael have been on before and they will continue to be featured.”
