‘Good Morning America’ loses Sam Champion; could more shake-ups be ahead?

For a little while now, “Good Morning America” has enjoyed the opportunity to not face a lot of pressure. It’s the #1 morning show in the country, and it’s done that following many decades of being second fiddle to “The Today Show.” It’s thanks to still feelings like an underdog that they’ve been able to avoid some of the big headlines and the occasional criticism that comes with it.

This is why the next few months mark probably the most critical time in the show’s history, as you have some contract negotiations that could help the show sink or swim for the foreseeable future. Robin Roberts and many of the other news personalities can use Matt Lauer’s massive “Today” earnings (think tens of millions of dollars) as some sort of leverage to get bigger deals.

One shoe that has officially dropped now is that the ABC series is officially losing Sam Champion. The longtime weatherman a.k.a. their version of Al Roker has been with the show since 2006, but he is now heading to the Weather Channel to host a new morning show there in early 2014. Not only that, but he has been appointed the Managing Editor for this network.

In a statement, ABC News head Ben Sherwood made it clear that Champion’s fellow meteorologist Ginger Zee would be coming on board now as his replacement:

“While there is no replacing Sam, we are in excellent hands with his storm chasing partner of the last few years, meteorologist Ginger Zee, who will take over his weather responsibilities at GMA and across ABC News.”

Are there going to be some more changes coming? While we imagine some tense negotiations behind the scenes, we have a hard time imagining anything too drastic being done. Given that the show has ascended to its peak position with this team, why do anything now to change what you’re doing? “Today” proved that if you get a lead in the ratings, you can keep it for a very long time.

Photo: ABC