The news is coming to Disney +.
Starting July 21, the streaming service will offer its first original program from ABC News with senior political correspondent Rachel Scott and international correspondent James Longman as co-anchors.
The short-form program, called “What You Need To Know,” will be taped each morning and made available to Disney + users on demand starting at 6 a.m. Eastern, ABC News announced Monday.
The title was originally used for the ABC television network’s afternoon edition of “Good Morning America,” now known as “GMA 3.”
The new program is another opportunity for ABC News to reach younger consumers who have abandoned traditional TV for streaming. The news division has its own 24-hour free streaming service, ABC News Live.
“This new effort expands ABC News’ significant footprint on Disney+, allowing us to reach and connect with new and diverse audiences,” ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic said in a statement.
The program will be a quick-paced compendium with short segments that range from “breaking headlines and the day’s biggest stories to entertainment buzz and viral videos.”
“What You Need to Know” will be the first network anchor role for Scott, a Los Angeles native and rising star within ABC News. Scott, 32, raised her profile during the 2024 presidential campaign when she delivered tough questioning to President Trump at the National Assn. of Black Journalists’ convention in Chicago.
The appearance led to death threats against Scott, who needed security in the days that followed.
Scott was also honored by the White House Correspondents Assn. for her coverage of the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pa.
Longman, 38, has been a foreign correspondent for ABC News since 2017. He will co-anchor “What You Need to Know” from London, where he is based.
Longman, who is gay, has reported on the challenges facing LGBTQ+ people in oppressive regimes around the world.
He recently wrote a memoir, “The Inherited Mind,” which traces the history of mental illness in his family.
The post Rachel Scott and James Longman will co-anchor a daily ABC News streaming program for Disney + appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
