How NBC will replace the anchor

Network morning show anchor chairs aren’t available very often, but when they are, they’re arguably the most valuable seats in the house.

Despite the well-known problems facing network television news and entertainment programming (sports is another story), the morning shows continue to be a beacon of relative stability. The anchors tend to remain anchored for years. And the morning shows, with their lifestyle focus, are still the cash cows that help subsidize other, less lucrative news programs.

So when changes are made to the anchor rotation, the format, or any piece of the morning show puzzle, it’s a big deal.

Hoda Kotb’s impending departure from NBC Today The show is arguably the biggest change to the morning show lineup in years, and the network will have a tall order to fill more than just the anchor chairs for two very different shows (the two core hours of). Today and the completely different 10 a.m. hour), but also decide how they want to look and feel. Kotb will take on a new role at NBC News sometime in 2025.

While each of the station’s morning shows since then has expanded its talent roster beyond the core hosts to include a larger group of regulars, the main presenting teams have been stable for years. The last big change came three years ago in 2021 when Nate Burleson joined CBS This Morning (Right now CBS Morning) as co-host alongside Gayle King and Tony Dkoupil.

It’s worth noting that King signed a new deal with CBS earlier this month.

At ABC Good morning AmericaThe three core anchors Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos and Michael Strahan have been in office since 2016.

Kotb’s exit early next year will force NBC to decide how to move forward.

This is worth mentioning Today is the last network morning show with two main co-hosts, with both ABC and CBS moving to a three-host setup (again, all shows have a larger supporting cast, including weather anchors, news anchors, and other contributors).

NBC could also very well use their exit to switch the format to a three-anchor setup. Today Meteorologist Dylan Dreyer told E! Thursday night: “I don’t think it would be surprising if they named someone from our core group…We’ve all filled in along the way when someone’s been out.”

While that’s true, some internally at NBC believe that Craig Melvin, who has been with the show for six years, will almost certainly be part of the format in which the show moves forward.

In many ways, the role is harder to fill on 10 O’Clock, where Kotb has been a co-host for 17 years and has worked with Jenna Bush Hager since 2019 TodayIn terms of look and feel, it’s more akin to a more traditional syndicated daytime hour, where the on-air relationship between the co-hosts is the most important thing.

NBC now needs to find someone to fit Bush Hager, and while there have been replacement roles over the years, getting this role right is crucial.

This is especially true for CBS Morning A third hour will be added next week. While Today launched its third hour in 2000 (and is the fourth hour in 2007) and GMA A third hour was added in 2018 (it now runs in the early afternoon as). GMA3), CBS had previously limited its flagship morning show to two hours.

CBS Mornings Plusas it is said, will be directed by Tony Dokoupil and Adriana Diaz and while it will be seen on television in a few local markets, it will also stream on the streaming channel CBS News, marking a major change in the way how the morning shows will be broadcast will be distributed.

Morning show hosts are widely considered to be the most lucrative business in news broadcasting (formerly). Today Host Matt Lauer was making more than $20 million a year when he was fired), but the changing economics of television will also likely be a factor going forward.

For hosts like Roberts and Stephanopoulos, the network combined their on-air agreements with production deals and had them produce programs for ABC, Hulu and other platforms. Journalists like Dokoupil and Bush Hager play multiple roles in several hours.

Across the network news landscape, there is an increasing desire to move things digital and cut the eight-figure deals that were once common. When an eight-figure deal is required to close a deal, it is often paired with a larger role.

It’s a morning show that fits the late-night scene, where staff cuts have been the norm in recent years. Hosts like Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers have survived by producing more than just their shows for their networks, including producing other programs and appearing at network events.

And the changes come as morning show ratings have been surprisingly competitive in recent months GMA routinely number one in total viewers, but Today Leading in the core demo for adults ages 25-54. CBS Morning also chickened out GMAs He was on the rise in the demo and topped ABC’s broadcast several times this year.

The closeness of the ratings combined with the importance of the morning shows to their respective networks underscores how significant the change is for NBC. Kotb was one of the faces of Today for years, and when Lauer was fired in 2017, she easily slipped into the role of co-host alongside Savannah Guthrie. NBC has people internally who could do the same (including Melvin, Willie Geist, Sheinelle Jones, Peter Alexander, and others).

But with so much at stake, the network could well use her exit as an opportunity to reevaluate the show’s structure and usher in a new era of morning show competition.