TV partners Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan are due to continue their hosting duties on daytime television. Disney-ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution confirmed that Live! with Kelly and Michael has been renewed with hosts Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan at the helm.
Live! with Kelly and Michael has been renewed through 2020. Disney/ABC has also set another long-term renewal with the game show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
Women 25 through 54, rejoice! #KellyandMichael has been renewed through 2020! https://t.co/YEZhoqgUnl pic.twitter.com/KBYFj2o7Os
— Vulture (@vulture) January 19, 2016
“We are exceptionally proud of Live’s unparalleled success and are thrilled to extend our highly-valued partnership with the ABC-owned stations for many more years to come,” said Janice Marinelli, president of Disney/ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution. “We are also very pleased to extend our relationship with their strong stations on Millionaire, which continues to resonate with viewers across the country.”
The renewals are for the majority of stations owned by ABC. Live! with Kelly and Michael is aired on eight ABC O&Os in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Fresno, Raleigh-Durham, and Houston. Who Wants to be a Millionaire”, which is hosted by Chris Harrison, has also been renewed on the ABC-owned stations through the 2016-17 seasons with the exception of WLS-TV Chicago.
Great news this morning. Proud to announce #WhoWantsToBeAMillionair @MillionaireTV is back for another big year https://t.co/aVGrMMt8X8
— Chris Harrison (@chrisbharrison) January 19, 2016
Live! is among the most successful syndicated franchises in the history of television. It started airing in 1988 with Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford as the hosts. Kelly Ripa succeeded Gifford, who left in 2001, while Strahan replaced Philbin in 2012.
2000 – Kathie Lee Gifford made her final appearance as co-host of the ABC talk show “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee.” pic.twitter.com/dF9oNd3zxB
— Today In TV History (@tvhistorytoday) July 28, 2015
“Audiences love watching Live! with Kelly and Michael. During the last week of 2015, the show achieved a 1.8 rating with women 25-54, the highest rating in that demo of any talk show this season,” said ABC Owned Television Stations Group president Rebecca Campbell in a statement. “Produced by our owned station WABC-TV, we are extremely proud of Live’s ability to innovate and connect with viewers and look forward to that continuing into the next decade.”
