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Update: George Stephanopoulos inked a multi-year deal Friday, according to sources. They say it’s similar to the last deal, adding, “ABC doesn’t realize it’s over… the staff is furious. It’s like a third-world country over there where the top .01 percent make all the money and the rest of the people get peanuts.”
(NewsNation) — Tensions are high at “Good Morning America” as anchor George Stephanopoulos’ contract is up, and the show is looking to trim his sky-high salary.
In 2021, Stephanopoulos signed a three-year contract extension after he threatened to go to another network when “ABC World News Tonight” anchor David Muir was given a larger role at the company.
At the time, Disney CEO Bob Iger had to step in — flying across the country — to broker a negotiation, which resulted in Stephanopoulos’ huge pay packet as well as his-and-her production companies for him and his wife, Ali Wentworth.
According to CNN, the deal also allowed him to “create new shows for Disney-owned platforms like Hulu and National Geographic.”
But times have changed. Budgets are being slashed across all networks — even NBC, which is leading the morning wars.
Hoda Kotb reportedly left “Today” after it was announced she’d have to take a pay cut. CNN stars like Anderson Cooper have already settled for less, and while GMA saved $100 million by ditching their Times Square studios, they now need to focus on the anchor salaries of Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan.
“All the anchors are so old,” one source told me. “They really hurt themselves when they fired Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes — now they don’t have a back bench to rely on.”
GOOD MORNING AMERICA – Show coverage of “Good Morning America” on 5/15/24 on ABC. (ABC/Paula Lobo) MICHAEL STRAHAN, ROBIN ROBERTS, GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 20: George Stephanopoulos attends the 2024 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California on April 20, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images) 
GOOD MORNING AMERICA – Show coverage of “Good Morning America” on 4/9/24 on ABC. (ABC/Paula Lobo) GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
Furthermore, “George did the softball interview with Kamala Harris, which went down very badly and frankly, people are fine with the big interviews going to David (Muir). There’s no reason to keep paying George so much money. Those days are over.”
The question remains: Will George accept less or call it a day?
My source said: “If he doesn’t want to retire, he should take whatever they offer him because where’s he going to go?”
The bigger fight for GMA comes next year when both Roberts’ and Strahan’s contracts are up. Both make upwards of $20 million a year but only work four days a week for the show while having generous vacation packages.
“Robin and Michael both get around 50 paid days off a year — Robin doesn’t work Fridays, and Michael doesn’t work Mondays. Meanwhile, ABC just laid off a bunch of producers — you know, the people who actually do the work. It’s unsustainable.”
A representative for ABC News didn’t return emails.
