Update: Feb. 22, 2017, 10 a.m. PT: Following rumors that Megyn Kelly‘s NBC contract would push Savannah Guthrie off the Today show, Guthrie announced on Twitter her return date: March 3.
By the looks of it, Guthrie’s job at the Today show is safe. She signed a long-term contract with the show before going on maternity leave.
Update: Feb. 3, 2017, 12:30 p.m. PT: Rumors are flying once again that Savannah Guthrie’s job is in danger.
Sources are telling Page Six that Guthrie, who currently co-hosts the 7 a.m. hour of the Today show alongside Matt Lauer, is likely to get bumped to the 9 a.m. slot, taking over for Tamron Hall and Al Roker and opening up a spot in the coveted 7 a.m. hour for newcomer Megyn Kelly.
“NBC is not paying Megyn $12 to $15 million a year to be on at 9 a.m. The word is that Savannah could take the 9 a.m. slot and Megyn will go right in at 7 a.m. Andy Lack is completely behind all of this,” a source said. “There’s no way Megyn would have signed with NBC unless she was promised a big role down the line.”
Another insider added, “If you’re Savannah, you’re looking over your shoulder every minute. The first time Savannah is out, Megyn will fill in, sitting next to Matt Lauer, and NBC will go to great lengths to capitalize on it. It doesn’t make sense to pay Megyn that kind of money unless she’s on at 7 a.m.”
Update: Jan. 27, 2017, 1 p.m. PT: It’s official: Megyn Kelly won’t be replacing Savannah Guthrie, but she is edging Al Roker and Tamron Hall out of their hosting hour on the Today show.
Reports say Kelly has her pick of either the 9 a.m. slot, which Roker and Hall are currently hosting, or the 10 a.m. slot, which is hosted by Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, who will be moved to 9 a.m. if Kelly takes over their time slot.
Insiders say Roker and Hall will both stay at NBC, but what that will look like remains unclear. Kelly will likely host her hour of Today solo.
Kelly is still under contract with Fox even though she’s left the network, so she won’t start appearing on NBC until sometime in the fall or even later.
“She is still under contract at Fox until July, then she has a six-month non-compete [clause],” an insider told People magazine. “Fox might let her out of the non-compete, but they might not. There is so much that has to still be arranged.”
The announcement that Roker and Hall are losing their hour came one day after they both celebrated their hour’s success on Twitter.
Update, Jan. 6, 11 a.m. PT: Rumors are flying about Megyn Kelly’s move to NBC — most recently that network execs have some big plans for her to edge Savannah Guthrie out of the Today show.
Page Six reports that multiple sources have confirmed that the talk at the network says Kelly is headed for Today.
“There is a rumor on set that Megyn would eventually get the lead anchor role on Today, pushing Savannah out,” an insider told the site.
But another source told the site that “the 9 a.m. hour of Today is likely not her goal. She is angling for something else.”
And a high-level exec at NBC brought up the 5-year contract that Guthrie just signed.
“We just signed Savannah to a massive deal that is longer than Megyn’s,” the source said. “A lead anchor role at Today isn’t part of the conversation for Megyn. The goal was simply to get someone of Megyn’s talent and caliber through the door at NBC. We have not made a decision on her daytime slot. It is being discussed.”
A Today show rep also denied the rumor, saying that Guthrie has a long future with the show.
“No, Megyn is not being ‘groomed;’ the senior leadership of NBC News expects to be long retired and sleeping in while Savannah is still rising early and anchoring Today,” the rep said.
Original story:
It’s official: Megyn Kelly is leaving Fox.
More:Megyn Kelly left “insulted” after her heated on-air argument with D. L. Hughley
Reports say Kelly turned down a $20 million-a-year offer from Fox in order to take a gig at NBC, where she’ll have a Sunday night show, a daily news program and a place in the network’s political coverage.
Kelly will stay at Fox through this week, continuing to host her show, The Kelly File. Her last day at Fox will be Friday, although she won’t start at NBC until July because of her ongoing contract.
Fox CEO and Chairman Rupert Murdoch released a statement after news broke of Kelly’s move, writing, “We hope she enjoys tremendous success in her career and wish her and her family all the best.”
More:Megyn Kelly’s wisdom on how we move on from the election is right on
Kelly also released a statement of her own on Facebook, thanking her soon-to-be former employer for the opportunities it gave her.
“While I will greatly miss my colleagues at Fox, I am delighted to be joining the NBC News family and taking on a new challenge,” she wrote. “I remain deeply grateful to Fox News, to Rupert, Lachlan and James Murdoch, and especially to all of the FNC viewers, who have taught me so much about what really matters.”
Kelly was at Fox for 12 years. It hasn’t been released how much she’ll be paid at NBC after she turned down the $20 million offer from Fox, where The Kelly File is the second highest-rated cable news show in total viewers. ABC and CNN were reportedly also chasing Kelly, but the Daily Mail reports that they couldn’t compete with the offer from Fox, putting them out of the running.
More: Did Megyn Kelly hint in her memoir that she was poisoned by Trump?
Before you go, check out our slideshow below.
Leave a Comment