Viewership of “GMA3: What You Need to Know” jumped by around 11% last week when chatter began swirling about an affair between anchors Amy Robach and TJ Holmes. But once Monday’s broadcast rolled around — sans Robach and Holmes, as ABC News decided to bench the pair — numbers held steady before falling back to their usual range.
Between Nov. 28 and Nov. 30, the 1 p.m. timeslot of the “Good Morning America” companion afternoon strip was averaging 1.63 million total viewers, according to Nielsen. That was before the Daily Mail reported, on the evening of Nov. 30, that Robach and Holmes were romantically linked. The report quickly went viral on social media with additional speculation about the pair’s relationship and their respective marriages circulating in the tabloids.
The next day, Thursday, Dec. 1, an average of 1.81 million people tuned in to “GMA3.” This marked an 11% increase from the average of the three broadcasts prior, followed by a viewership of 1.71 million on Dec. 2.
The previous week of Nov. 21-25, which consisted of three “GMA3” shows instead of the usual five because of the Thanksgiving holiday, averaged 1.61 million viewers compared to 1.68 million the week of Nov. 28 to Dec. 2, marking a 5% increase the week of the affair.
By Monday, the show was instead being anchored by Gio Benitez and Stephanie Ramos, and averaged 1.67 million viewers, on par with Robach and Holmes’ last appearance. On Tuesday, viewership had risen to 1.74 million. And Wednesday, it had ticked down to 1.68 million.
Robach and Holmes did not address the affair when they were still on the air, and have yet to make any public statements about the matter.
On Monday morning, ABC News President Kim Godwin informed staffers that Robach and Holmes would be removed from the air as the news division considered how their recent disclosure may impact “GMA3” and the company. According to a source familiar with the matter, Godwin clarified that the anchors had not violated company policy, though ABC believed the situation to be “an internal and external disruption” and “wanted to do what’s best for the organization.”
