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ABC is replacing ‘The Chew’ with a third hour of ‘Good Morning America’

Co-anchors Michael Strahan, left, Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos on the set of "Good Morning America" in New York. The show is expanding to a third hour in September.
Co-anchors Michael Strahan, left, Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos on the set of “Good Morning America” in New York. The show is expanding to a third hour in September.
(Paula Lobo / Associated Press)
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ABC is expanding its top-rated morning show “Good Morning America” with a third hour to replace the daytime talk show “The Chew.”

The additional hour, which will be on tape, is set to launch in September, the network announced Wednesday.

It’s the first time ABC has committed to a brand extension of “Good Morning America.” A third hour was briefly tested for a few months in 2012 after the cancelation of another daytime talk show, “The Revolution.”

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The third hour of “GMA” will air at 1 p.m. Eastern and noon in the Central and Pacific time zones. The anchors will be named over the next few months. “The Chew,” the food-oriented talk show that has aired in the time period since 2011, will remain in production until June.

In a statement, Disney/ABC Television President Ben Sherwood called the move “a business decision,” noting that a third hour of “GMA” would be “great opportunity for viewers and advertisers.”

“The Chew” may have become collateral damage of the #MeToo movement. The food-focused program was tarnished when its highest-profile chef, co-host Mario Batali, was fired in December after reports that he allegedly harassed several women who worked for him at his restaurants.

On Sunday, a “60 Minutes” report revealed that Batali had been accused of sexual assault by a former employee. The New York Police Department confirmed that the matter is under investigation. Batali has denied the allegations.

An ABC News representative could not be reached for comment.

The third hour of “GMA” should be a low-cost replacement for the network, as the name is already familiar to ABC viewers. The additional hour will air from the Times Square studio in Manhattan where “GMA” has broadcast since 1999

Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos and Michael Strahan are the co-anchors of “Good Morning America” from 7 to 9 a.m. GMA has topped NBC’s “Today” in viewers for 12 of the last 13 weeks after falling behind late last fall. It runs behind “Today” in the 25-to-54 age group that advertisers seek when buying commercials on news programming.

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stephen.battaglio@latimes.com

Twitter: @SteveBattaglio

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