Sam Champion originally left ABC’s Good Morning America years ago for a big job at The Weather Channel, but he later returned to the ABC family and is currently recovering after a recent heart procedure, from which he says he’s expected to make a full recovery.

What Happened to Sam Champion on ABC?

1. His big move away from ABC

  • In December 2013, ABC announced that Sam Champion was leaving Good Morning America and ABC News.
  • He took what he called a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to join The Weather Channel as the on‑air face of the network and its managing editor.
  • This ended roughly 25 years with ABC, including his long run as GMA’s weather anchor and years at New York’s WABC‑TV.

In short, at that time nothing bad “happened” to him at ABC; he chose to leave for a bigger, more specialized weather role.

2. What he did after leaving ABC

  • At The Weather Channel, he co‑anchored shows like AMHQ: America’s Morning Headquarters and 23.5 Degrees With Sam Champion.
  • After leaving NBC and The Weather Channel in 2016, he began appearing again with ABC as a fill‑in meteorologist.

3. His return to ABC and GMA

  • Sam later returned to the ABC family, doing fill‑in weather on Good Morning America, for example while Ginger Zee was on maternity leave.
  • In 2019, it was announced he would again be the weekday morning weather anchor at WABC‑TV in New York and a featured contributor to ABC News, bringing him back into the ABC orbit on a regular basis.

So if you’re watching ABC now and wondering “what happened,” the answer is that he left for The Weather Channel, then came back and is again part of ABC’s on‑air weather team.

4. Recent health news (why he’s in headlines now)

More recently, Sam Champion has been in the news because of health issues rather than job changes:

  1. Heart procedure in March 2026
    • In March 2026, he revealed that a nuclear stress test led doctors to discover heart issues that needed attention, and he underwent a cardiac procedure in a catheterization lab.
 * He posted from the hospital saying the procedure “took care of it” and that he is well and expected to make a full recovery, thanking his medical team and colleagues for their support.
  1. Earlier skin cancer surgery and scar
    • In 2024, he spoke on air about undergoing surgery to remove skin cancer and showed his scar, using the moment to urge viewers to watch their skin and get suspicious spots checked.

These health updates may be why people are currently searching “what happened to Sam Champion on ABC” — he’s still associated with ABC/GMA, but has openly shared both his skin‑cancer surgery and his more recent heart procedure.

5. Forum / trending angle

If you’re seeing this as a trending topic or forum discussion , users are generally talking about:

  • Concern over his heart procedure and relief that he expects a full recovery.
  • Ongoing admiration that he keeps coming back to GMA/WABC and remains a familiar face on ABC after his stint at The Weather Channel.
  • Conversation about his openness regarding skin cancer, scars, and sun safety.

From a “what’s the latest?” perspective: as of late March 2026, Sam Champion is alive, in recovery from a heart procedure, and still part of the ABC/GMA world, not “gone” from the network.

TL;DR: Sam Champion left ABC/GMA in 2013 to become the on‑air face and managing editor at The Weather Channel, later returned to ABC and WABC‑TV, and is now recovering from a recent heart procedure after previously undergoing skin‑cancer surgery, but he says he is expected to be fine and remains connected to ABC.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.