The morning show landscape looks a bit different than it used to, former "Today" co-host Deborah Norville said Sunday.
Norville joined CNN's "Reliable Sources" to talk about the recent shakeup on "Good Morning America." Josh Elliott left the ABC show to join NBC Sports last week, prompting speculation that he has his sights set on a "Today" show role. His exit comes after Sam Champion's departure for the Weather Channel. "Live With Kelly and Michael" co-host Michael Strahan is expected to join "GMA" in a new part-time role.
On Sunday, Norville, who co-hosted "Today" in 1990 and 1991, compared Elliott's departure to Ann Curry's 2012 ouster from "Today," which she said involved more "tears" and "angst."
"Elliott left of his own accord," said Norville. "It's not a situation where people can say, 'This guy was being pushed out.' He made a business decision, NBC made a business decision in bringing him in."
Norville did not say whether she thought Elliott could be in line for a "Today" job, but noted that NBC News and ABC News now "have a large number" of co-hosts in the morning.
"When I was a part of morning television, there was the host, the co-host, the weather person and the news reader," she recalled. "That was it. Now you've got six, eight, depending how you want to tally up the various hours."
Another change in the wake of Elliott's departure, according to Norville, is that the majority of the casts on network TV in the morning are now female. That is certainly the case on "GMA," where women outnumber the show's sole male host, George Stephanopoulos, four to one.
Gayle King, Norah O'Donnell and Charlie Rose host "CBS This Morning," while the "Today" show cast consists of Carson Daly, Willie Geist, Kathie Lee Gifford, Savannah Guthrie, Tamron Hall, Hoda Kotb, Matt Lauer, Natalie Morales and Al Roker, for a five-to-four breakdown of women to men.
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