In a move that jolted two highly competitive arenas, morning television and sports media, Josh Elliott is leaving ABC’s Good Morning America which he helped vault into the number one slot over NBC’s Today and will be joining NBC Sports.
The New York Times’ Bill Carter reports that Elliott will be used across NBC Sports’ high profile properties including the Olympics, Sunday Night Football and horse racing’s Triple Crown.
Before joining GMA in 2011, Elliott was an ESPN SportsCenter morning co-anchor with Hannah Storm.
CNN’s Brian Stelter writes that Elliott was originally lured by NBC to join both news and sports, but a non-compete clause prevents him from working at Today for six months.
Instead, Elliott will be used by NBC as a potential successor to Bob Costas on the Olympics and Sunday Night Football.
Reports had Elliott seeking a monumental raise in his annual salary from his current $1.2 million to at least $8 million.
As for GMA, Amy Robach has been named as Elliott’s successor as news reader. This is the second major defection for Good Morning America. Weatherman Sam Champion left to join NBCUniversal’s Weather Channel and was replaced by Ginger Zee.
GMA has been number one in the morning since the 2012 Ann Curry fiasco, but has seen a Today ratings resurgence since the Sochi Olympics.
Perhaps you will see Elliott on Today in the future, but as for now, he’s back in sports.
