Owens joined ABC News in August 2006 as an anchor and correspondent for ABC News Now, the network's twenty-four-hour news-and-information digital channel.
For most of 2007, he co-anchored — with Taina Hernandez — World News Now, ABC News' overnight news program. (He also occasionally anchored America This Morning, a 30-minute ABC News early-morning news program.) During his time on World News Now. Owens was involved in controversy when the two anchors inappropriately made light of Owen Wilson's suicide attempt on-air and they were reprimanded for this by ABC News.[3] His departure from World News Now was announced during the program's February 29, 2008, broadcast indicating he had taken a job as a network correspondent.
His first on-air appearance in this new role was on March 10, 2008, covering the Ohio snow storms. He also occasionally anchored the World News Webcastpodcast for ABC News at its homepage.