Orlando Baptist getting bumped from Sunday a.m. slot on WFTV

Talk about big schedule changes.

To make room for “Good Morning America” on Sundays, WFTV-Channel 9 will shift a religious program it has aired for 50 years.

Starting April 26, “GMA” will be seen at 9 a.m. Sundays on Orlando’s ABC affiliate.

The religious program — known as “Passionate Living with David Uth” but recently retitled “First on Sunday” — moves to 10 a.m. Sundays on sister station WRDQ-Channel 27. The program comes from First Baptist Orlando, and the series averaged 24,000 viewers on Sundays in the first quarter this year.

“Our viewers wanted ‘GMA’ on Sundays, but we had a 50-year relationship with Orlando Baptist,” said Shawn Bartelt, general manager of WFTV and WRDQ. “So we had to find a way that we could meet everybody’s needs.”

The church’s website notes the schedule change and states: “The new program name is ‘First on Sunday’ and will continue to air Pastor David’s messages and invite viewers to connect with First Orlando.”

Bartelt stressed the ties to the church. “We had been in a relationship with them for 50 years, and that’s why we never pulled them to put local news in, because it’s just a long-standing partnership,” she said. WRDQ would be a strong outlet for the program, she added.

“GMA” will air seven days a week in Central Florida. Orlando is the No. 3 market in the country, behind Atlanta and Philadelphia, for the top-rated morning weekday show.

Starting April 26, WFTV also will shift “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” to one hour earlier at 10 a.m.