David Muir has won an annoying feud with his colleague ABC newsster George Stephanopoulos, says a respected TV insider.
Oliver Darcy, a former CNN star and founder of the status of the news site, told Dailymail.com that Muir, 53, has successfully seen Stephanopoulos, 64, to become undisputed king of the network.
“David won,” said Darcy on Friday on DailyMail.com's Welcome to Magaland Podcast.
'There is a reason that George Stephanopoulos plays no role in the larger ABC News -political reporting. He was the chief for a while and now it is David Muir. '
Darcy explained that after years of fighting for power on the network, the two have settled in the new normal, where Muir is the most important star.
'It's not like an active feud. It is a kind of North Korea and South Korea, as if there is a détente, “he said.
“But as if not much love has been lost among those camps.”
Darcy noted that Stephanopoulos retains his areas of power at the network, where he is still highly respected.
But Darcy says that Stephanopoulos is very much under Muir in the pecking order.
“It doesn't mean that George does not have his own real estate. He certainly does that: he has his show that he hosts once a month, he has Good Morning America, and he has his own production company that has a Disney deal, “the Media Insider added.
David Muir is the winner of his legendary feud with George Stephanopoulos, according to media insider Oliver Darcy
While Muir is the chief of ABC News, Stephanopoulos has 'his own real estate' in the network
'He is doing great, but there is certainly a feud between the two. And I think if someone denies it, just a bit laughable. I would be ashamed of them.
“It is a bit absurd that someone would even deny it because it is well known in MediaCirkels in ABC, especially in Disney, that there is feud between the two.”
Darcy spoke after ABC News stated earlier that everything was good between Muir and Stephanopoulos.
A ABC News spokesperson told DailyMail.com on Friday: 'There are now much more important things going on in the world. This is nonsense. '
In December Darcy reported on status news that Muir and Stephanopoulos are hardly seen on the screen anymore because of their contempt for each other.
Darcy said there was 'historical tension' between the couple.
That rivalry is said to go back to the rise of Muir in the network and Stephanopoulos resistance against replacement by a younger journalist.
Oliver Darcy of Status News spoke on Friday with DailyMail's political reporter John Raasch and main reporter Germania Rodriguez poleo. Click here to listen.
ABC News stars David Muir and George Stephanopoulos have a 'historical' feud because they have had power at ABC News for years. They will be seen in 2014 with Diane Sawyer and James Goldston
In 2021, CNN reported that Disney -Baas Bob Iger from California flew to New York to close a deal with Stephanopoulos after he threatened to leave ABC because younger rival Muir had been promoted to main anchor.
Stephanopoulos was furious when Muir was responsible for the special reporting of the network about breaking news stories and special events in Leiden – a role that Stephanopoulos had held since 2014.
The Good Morning America -anchor served in the early 1990s as a Witte House communication director for Bill Clinton. He came to ABC in 1997 and received the most important anchor role in 2014. The network had never had one.
When he found out that the most important anchor responsibilities were transferred to Muir, although the title was not, he threatened to walk according to CNN.
The rivalry between the two men dates from 2014 when Muir Diane Sawyer replaced what was then known as ABC World News. It is now called World News tonight.
At the time, the role of the world news anchor was the most coveted in the organization and whoever filled it was considered a top dog.
Muir retains that role and his reviews are good. His salary was not disclosed, but is supposed to be far in eight figures.
The last reported salary from Stephanopoulos was $ 20 million a year, although in 2024 he took an unknown wage reduction.
ABC News is said to consider Muir the most valuable possession of the network.
World News Tonight is the last nocturnal news show of the great budget for a charismatic host who has been provided for quantity by his network.
ABC would hope that the recent relegation of Nora O'Donnell from CBS Evening News and the approaching departure of Lester Hurst from NBC Nightly News will further strengthen the popularity of Muir.
Stephanopoulos already organized GMA and led it to enormous commercial success, but wanted the World News Tonight -Rol. He stayed on the morning schedule.
Muir got the World News Anchor track. At the time, he was considerably less experienced than Stephanopoulos, so the most important anchor role went to the latter, just like the higher salary.
