ABC News Live Plans Weekday Expansion (Exclusive)

Alex Weprin
·6 min read
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ABC News Live, the network news division’s streaming offering, is expanding its lineup in a fresh push for consumers seeking live news outside of the traditional TV ecosystem.

ABC says that correspondent Kayna Whitworth will join the lineup from 5-7 p.m. beginning next week, creating a live news lineup that starts in the mornings with Diane Macedo, continues in the afternoons with Kyra Phillips and then Whitworth, and is capped off in the evening with Linsey Davis (ABC News Live had been in tape during those hours before).

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“People are connecting with Linsey, Kyra, Diane and Kayna because collectively they bring more than 80 years of valuable and unique journalistic experience to the streaming network,” ABC News president Kim Godwin says. “Add in their passion, curiosity, authenticity and relatability, and they are just compelling to watch. The entire ABC News Live team is meeting the moment with in-depth, straightforward reporting that is providing a real service for viewers getting their news anywhere, anytime and on any device.”

Streaming news has become a priority for broadcast news divisions, with NBC News and CBS News also investing in their streaming offerings (NBC News Now was the focus of a renewed streaming push and investment in 2021, while CBS News Streaming overhauled its lineup last year).

ABC News Live was premised on leaning into live, breaking news, and while it runs replays of its main network programs, as its competitors do, the new programming expansion is meant to further that priority of breaking news. Whitworth, for example, will be based in Los Angeles.

“One luxury that we have is even if the show goes off at 9, we don’t have to stick with that. If the news is still going, we’re still going,” Davis says in an interview alongside the other ABC News Live anchors. “And so if there is an indictment, if there’s a verdict, if there’s an escapee who’s caught at 9 p.m., we’re going on the air and sometimes we’re on until midnight.”

“The second news happens, we’re all over it,” Macedo says.

“No one is afraid to tear apart a rundown,” Whitworth adds.

ABC News Live isn’t a cable news channel, but the flow of news that cable news viewers know well is represented in its programming. Consider Phillips’ show, which is based out of Washington, D.C.

“My block is 1 to 5 p.m. and we describe it as the roller coaster, because from coast to coast, everybody is up by then, news is breaking,” Phillips says. “I’ve become a consistent multitasker, because nothing ever goes as planned. We will put shows together, but there’s always a live event, there’s always something that happens.”

With its new programming and West Coast edition, ABC News executives and Whitworth are betting that there are also new stories to tell.

“I hope that we are the place that when breaking news happens, people know exactly where to go. They know that they can trust us, they know that we are accurate, they know that we are on top of it, and they know that we are using the tremendous resources that ABC has to cover these news events,” Whitworth says. “And specifically for me, when people tune in, I’m not here to talk at you. I’m here to talk with you, and to hear from you, and to learn and grow with the audience. Because we’re community members too.

“Our goal of meeting the viewer exactly where they are, isn’t just about meeting them on their tablet or their iPhone or their computer, but it’s also about meeting them where they are in their life, and hearing about the issues that are important to them,” Whitworth adds. “Because the issues that are important to rural Americans are not the same as the issues that are important to people that live in Manhattan, and I want to make sure that those people have a voice here.”

And as the lineup expands, the variety of programming will expand, too. Breaking news will remain the core, but the anchors also say they are excited to shine a light on stories or topics that are important to them, or that would be relevant or helpful to viewers.

“For the morning team, it’s kind of a privilege to set the agenda for the day,” Macedo says. “And our objective is to really give a lot of variety. So we want our viewer to feel like they can walk out and have a conversation on all of the news happening that day. So we’re going to cover foreign affairs. We’re going to cover the hard news. We’re going to cover politics, but we’re also covering what happened at the VMAs last night, and so we want our viewers to feel like they can leave the house and go wherever they’re going and be a part or even lead whatever conversation they’re a part of.”

Adds Whitworth, “One of the most fulfilling things that I’ve done at ABC News as a correspondent is to bring a story to the network, you tell the story and then you can come over to ABC News Live and really pull at some additional threads.”

But ABC News Live, like its network streaming competition, is also built on the idea of accessibility. Cable news channels remain paywalled in the TV bundle, but network news, by design, is free and accessible.

“We’re not a luxury, we are just there and available for everyone,” Davis says. “When you say ABC News Live, people instantly know what it is and where they can get it. That it’s not something that you have to explain, something that you have try to direct people to, that it is just commonplace in people’s lives and that we are considered a landing place, a natural place to go to get your news.”

Adds Phillips, “We all know streaming is the future. All of us recognize that, we’ve all been around the block. We’re all very well seasoned journalists, from covering the White House, to wars, to in-depth cultural pieces.”

And the anchors are also supportive of each other, praising Davis for helping establish the ABC News Live brand when she joined the service in 2020.

“In this business, where it can be so cutthroat … there’s a lot of love among this group of women,” Phillips says. “And I think it’s because we feel good about what we’ve done and we feel good about where we’re going. And we have each other’s back and we have fun, too.”

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