Kelly Ripa welcomes new co-host Ryan Seacrest to 'LIVE'

NEW YORK -- Welcome to LIVE, Ryan Seacrest!

Kelly Ripa introduced her new co-host on the show on Monday after a months-long search. The number one daytime entertainment talk show in America has gone by the name LIVE with Kelly as Ripa appeared with dozens of guest co-hosts over the past 11 months.

Raw interview with Kelly and Ryan after announcement:

Watch Sandy Kenyon's raw interview with Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest following the co-host announcement.

Seacrest will move to New York for the job, but he'll continue his daily radio show and other ventures, he said. Ripa joked about how this would be added to Seacrest's many jobs by saying, "He's just giving up breakfast."

In a behind-the-scenes video, Ripa told Seacrest, "Let's kill it!" ahead of the show, and she said she was "inexplicably nervous."

Ripa and Seacrest's first guest was Chris Pratt, whose movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is out this week.

The longtime host took the time to thank everyone involved in the search process, especially all the guest co-hosts who sat beside her. She was excited, she said, to finally have a new co-host, especially someone she knows so well.

"We've known each other for such a long time. We've been friends for such a long time. And I've been an admirer. Not just a friend, but an admirer," Ripa said of Seacrest.

Sandy Kenyon has the scoop on Ryan Seacrest joining the 'Live' team as Kelly Ripa's permanent co-host

Ripa pointed out that the day of the announcement is also her 21st wedding anniversary with husband Mark Consuelos.

"May 1 is a great day for me personally and I think for me professionally," she said. "It just feels like very good karma."

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Marvel, ABC and this station.