Katie Couric's Talk Show Adds Another Producer (Exclusive)

4:56 PM PST 2/3/2013 by Marisa Guthrie

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Disney-ABC Domestic Television

Katie Couric on set of "Katie"

Ethan Nelson, who has been named co-executive producer of "Katie," joins the talker from "GMA" spinoff "Good Afternoon America."

Katie Couric’s daytime talk show is getting another producer.

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According to sources close to the show, Ethan Nelson has been named co-executive producer alongside current co-exec producers Michael Bass and Kathy Samuels and producer Matt Strauss also will get a title bump to co-EP. Nelson comes to Katie from ABC News, where he was senior executive producer of Good Afternoon America, the 2 p.m. spinoff of Good Morning America that aired last summer with co-hosts Lara Spencer and Josh Elliott.

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Like Bass, Samuels and Strauss, Nelson will report to executive producers Couric and Michael Morrison, who was hired in December after Jeff Zucker departed the program to assume the presidency of CNN Worldwide. Morrison previously did a short stint as executive producer of Martha Stewart's Martha.

Sources say Nelson will be introduced to the staff Monday. Additionally, Tony Maciulis -- who came with Couric from CBS News, where he produced many of Couric's web interviews -- has been elevated to a supervising role.

Katie is the top-rated freshman talker and officially was renewed Thursday for a second season on its existing stations. The renewal was largely a formality since Disney-ABC Domestic Television gave Katie a two-year commitment when it commissioned the show.

For the season, Katie is the sixth-ranked daytime program, averaging a 1.9 household rating with 2.5 million viewers.

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Couric scored a recent coup when she booked star Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o for his first on-camera sit-down since revelations surfaced that his deceased girlfriend actually did not exist but was an elaborate hoax. The Jan. 24 interview was promoted on the newscasts of local ABC stations (where Couric’s daytime show airs) as well as nationally on ABC News (where Couric is a special correspondent) and cable sports leader ESPN (part of the Disney-ABC empire and where Couric did an interview to promote Te’o’s appearance). The result was a 30 percent surge over the previous four-week average for Katie. And when final numbers are in Feb. 5, it is likely to be the talker's most-watched episode.

Email: Marisa.Guthrie@thr.com; Twitter: @MarisaGuthrie