Network is trying to keep up with ABC’s GMA, wants shakeup

Nov 20, 2014 14:28 GMT  ·  By
New shakeup planned for The Today Show affects everyone but Matt Lauer
5 photos
   New shakeup planned for The Today Show affects everyone but Matt Lauer

In June 2012, a little over a year after she had come on board The Today Show as co-host, Ann Curry announced that her contract had not been renewed. NBC bosses explained that she didn’t click with the rest of the gang and even less with audiences, and that she’d be replaced by Savannah Guthrie, but loyal viewers and media insiders claimed Matt Lauer had had a hand in it from the start.

The same people who claimed that at the time still believe it: Matt Lauer is still the figure around whom everything else revolves on the show and that’s not necessarily a good thing.

The most recent rumor seems to back that up: sources close to the production tells Us Weekly that a major shakeup is in the works and that basically everyone but Lauer and Guthrie will be either fired or moved from their current spot on the show.

For what it’s worth, NBC has already denied the report, saying the current Today team is the team they’re standing by because they have built an audience and must stay loyal to that. Then again, if the rumor is true, would you really expect a confirmation? All networks deny rumors when people are still to sign on the dotted line.

So here’s what we know from the unnamed sources: Lauer and possibly Guthrie stay, but Willie Geist and Natalie Morales are gone. They’ve “recently [been] told they were fired,” the insider adds, but they’re in talks to move to rival networks ABC and CBS.

General Manager Jamie Horowitz is also gone, reportedly because she tried to make a fuss about the decision.

Now for the moves: Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotb will be moved to the actual Today coach, which means their one-hour segment will either be shut down or hosted by another duo. Tamron Hall will be demoted to MSNBC.

Again, NBC has denied this report, hinting there’s no shakeup planned. Remember that ABC did the same when word got out that there would be a virtual bloodbath over at The View, yet it happened nonetheless.

NBC's current lineup on The Today Show (5 Images)

New shakeup planned for The Today Show affects everyone but Matt Lauer
Tamron Hall is going back to MSNBC, is demoted, says unconfirmed reportWillie Geist and Natalie Morales are in talks with rival networks already, ABC and CBS
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