“American Idol”, “E! Red Carpet”, “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” and longtime radio host Ryan Seacrest is joining Kelly Ripa every morning on “LIVE!” It’s been nearly a year since Michael Strahan left “LIVE” to go to “Good Morning America” full-time. Since then, dozens of male and female celebs have guest-co-hosted with Ripa. Seacrest was with Ripa on the Morning After the Oscars episode in February – broadcast from the Oscars home at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Because of his already full schedule Seacrest wasn’t thought to be a serious contender for the job, but here’s why he’s very good choice:
- He knows celebrities inside and out
- He’s young (42 – Ripa is 46)
- He’ll bring in both male and female viewers
- He’s a professional host/broadcaster
- He’s been on the radio for a long time – trivia caller conversations will be lively every day
- He and Ripa have been friends for a long time; Seacrest co-hosted the Disney Christmas Day Parade with Regis & Kelly for years
- He’s very comfortable with teases to commercial break (Ripa introduced him in segment two of Monday’s show following a dramatic “Right After the Break!”) and intros to segments
- And he’s experienced and quite comfortable in any “LIVE” atmosphere
Seacrest says he will be flying to his LA home on the weekends… for now. His “LIVE” deal has reportedly been in the works for months. Seacrest will also serve as an executive producer on the show. As for radio, an iHeart Radio studio has been built for him at ABC 7 in NYC to allow him to continue “On Air”. On April 18th, Seacrest extended his deal with “E! Live from the Red Carpet”, so he will still be covering Awards Season, including the Golden Globes, Grammys and Oscars.
Seacrest was the first celebrity I ever met – at the Center for Disability Services telethon in Albany, NY back in Jan. 2005. “Idol” was just kicking off its fourth season – on the cusp of becoming the cultural phenomenon. He was extremely nice: we posed for a photo and he signed a picture I brought with me to the telethon. Looking forward to sharing that story with him someday soon.