At last the TV academy has revealed who'll compete for that mysterious, brand-new prize for morning shows to be bestowed by the Daytime Emmys. Acad kept it hush when the other nominees were unveiled a few weeks ago, but a flapdoodle erupted over the omission of "Live with Regis & Kelly" from the talk show lineup while Regis Philbin was in the hospital undergoing triple-bypass heart surgery. Emmywatchers wondered: did poor Reege have cause for further chest angst?

No, it turns out. There's a new category minted just for the morning shows like "Good Morning America," "Today," "CBS Early Show" and even Fox News Channel's "Fox and Friends." "Live" had the choice of joining those rivals or else staying put in the talk show races for program and host. Its producers choose to throw its lot into the new slot since it's fared so poorly in the others. This one combines program and host into one race — producers will share the same prize with Reege and Kelly Ripa if they win.

Good news: they got nominated, along with "GMA" and "Today." Others are snubees at risk for angina.

Photo: The only time "Live" won an Emmy for program or host was in the latter race when Reege emceed the show alone after the exit of Kathie Lee Gifford. Otherwise, it was routinely nominated, but lost just like most programs with multiple hosts. Voters seem to have a clear bias toward shows with only a solo star in charge. (ABC)