Report: 2 Frontrunners Have Emerged To Replace 'TODAY' Show Host Hoda Kotb
Fans of NBC's "TODAY" show learned this week that longtime host Hoda Kotb will be stepping down from her role after this year is over.
Kotb has been with NBC for 26 years. She announced this week that she's leaving "TODAY" so she can focus on her kids. That being said, she'll remain part of the network.
"I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new," Kotb said. "I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs, and I thought, 'This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.' And I thought it can't get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on.
"And then I thought about - obviously I had my kiddos late in life - I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world because today I saw a picture on my phone of you guys holding my picture. I'm going to be here past the first of the year and I'm going to stay in the NBC family. But it's kind of a big deal for me. I've been practicing so I wouldn't cry, but anyway, I did."
Kotb's exit has NBC working hard to retain Savannah Guthrie. Her contract is up next year.
"Savannah’s contract is coming up next year and they want to keep her and will be doing anything they can to continue their relationship with Savannah as a means of not overhauling everything," an NBC insider told Daily Mail.
Even if we assume Guthrie stays on "TODAY" for 2025 and beyond, there's still some uncertainty surrounding Kotb's spot.
According to the report from Daily Mail, there are two in-house candidates to replace Kotb on "TODAY." The two options are none other than Craig Melvin and Laura Jarrett.
FNEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 8: Michael Feldman and Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Jenna Bush Hager and Henry Chase Hager attend the men's final on day fourteen of the 2024 US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center on September 8, 2024 in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/GC Images)
Melvin is the news anchor on "TODAY." He would probably have no trouble sliding into this new role.
Jarrett, meanwhile, has the co-anchor of the weekend edition of "TODAY."
Who do you think should replace Kotb?
