Hoda Kotb decided to exit “today” after NBC suggested a cut to her $20 million salary

Hoda Kotb’s surprise announcement this week that she would step down as host of NBC’s “Today” was partly due to the network asking her to take a pay cut, Puck News reported Friday.

According to Puck, she earned more than $20 million a year, a salary that network executives told her was no longer justifiable thanks to the changing broadcasting landscape.

“NBC executives loved Hoda and knew her value to the brand, but also made it clear to their agents that such stratospheric contracts were no longer justifiable given the industry’s inexorable decline,” due in part to the sharp ratings decline on “Today” and Similar competitors were “Good Morning America,” Puck reported.

As of September 2014, “Today” averaged 4.672 million total viewers. However, the show averaged 2.536 million that month, although it narrowly edged out competitors from other networks.

Representatives for NBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.

Kotb announced on Thursday’s episode of “Today” that she will be stepping down and taking on an unspecified other role at NBC in early 2025.

In a memo to staff, which Kotb also read on air, she said she made her decision in August after realizing that “at 60, it was time for me to turn the page and do something new.” Try it out.”

“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” Kotb continued. “I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful decision. And you all are the reason why. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I feel that so deeply right now. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”

Kotb has spent 10 of her 26 years at NBC on “Dateline,” seven on “Today” at 7 a.m. and 16 on “Today” at 10 a.m. She helped launch the show’s fourth hour along with Kathie Lee Gifford and Jenna Bush Hager.

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