Watch Good Morning America live

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Last Updated on 24th July 2020

How would you like to be seen by 5 million people, live on American TV? Well simply head down to New York’s Times Square, stand in the background and watch Good Morning America live at ABC’s Times Square studio … and wave!

So where is Good Morning America filmed?

I found this out while working in New York for 2 months back in 2014. I’d regularly walk past the studios on the corner of 44th Street and Broadway towards the end of their 7am to 9am show (7am – 8am on weekends). It’s a daily event and surprisingly far less busy than you might expect. There’s a big window for watching the presenters as they interview that day’s “A-listers”. Overhead are speakers so you can hear what’s going on inside. However the best bit are definitely the live sketches they do outside on the sidewalk.

It’s pretty easy to appear in the background

During the Autumn months while I was there they tended to have daily outside sketches. If you were lucky you could appear in the background for your 5 seconds of “fame.” On my morning commute through Manhattan I found that I’d watch Good Morning America Live every work day! I just couldn’t help myself.

Generally it’s a sea of bright neon placards saying stuff like “Hi Mom”, but I found the colder it was the better as that reduced the size of the crowds. This is where I got the chance to appear right in the front row as the camera panned round. Even getting a little mention from George Stephanopoulos himself.

A few times a week there’d be more of a show on the plaza with rigging, lighting and multiple cameras. On that occasion I took photos from behind the presenters and then watched the show a few days later online to see if I’d appeared or not. On slower days generally just Ginger Zee, the weather reporter would appear. She’d stand adjacent to the window for a weather update, with possibly a quick chat to the crowd before she retreated back inside!

There are many other things to do in NYC apart from standing watching TV in Times Square so make sure to check out these top 3 trips below 🙂

Alternatively there’s the ‘Today’ programme at the Rockerfeller Plaza in-between 48th and 49th. A similar set-up with a view of the studio and outside sketches but GMA’s was one my route to work and felt a bit more accessible.

Any tips if I want to watch Good Morning America live?

1. Stand near the exit door on the right-hand side. There you’re more likely to have a casual chit-chat or get a “hello” from one of the presenters. Also you might see a star waiting candidly in the wings. Like I did when Lisa Kudrow was on the show.

2. Alternatively stand by the corner of the viewing window as that’s where the roving camera tends to be. You’ll then get to appear in the background.

3. Don’t get unlucky and be stood right behind the presenter as then you won’t be in shot at all!

4. If you appear in shot try to look at the presenter occasionally otherwise you’ll look a bit weird.

5. Check out the GMA website on your iPad/laptop the next day so you can film the screen to prove you were on the TV. However if you wait until you get back to the UK the GMA website won’t let you watch the video as you are then outside of the USA. If using your phone the website might instead direct you to the ‘Watch ABC’ app on the Apple Store. But then your phone might try to direct you back to the UK App Store … which doesn’t contain the ‘Watch ABC’ app. 🙁 So see how you get on while still out in the USA.Alternatively sign up with Hulu for a free trial and watch the show when it appears online on their site. Although once again you can’t appear to access this website back in the UK unless you’re clever and know about VPN or Smart DNS access. This YouTube video by vpvMentor – How to unblock Hulu – might be able to help.

Who’s off to New York soon? Anybody tempted to watch Good Morning America live while you’re there? If nothing else it will get you up and out of bed early 🙂

… just recently I had 15 “seconds” of fame by appearing during the introduction of the BBC News at Six!

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