NEW YORK — In a stunning move that will likely disrupt the TV morning show landscape, Hoda Kotb announced Thursday she is departing NBC’s “Today.”
Kotb informed viewers of her decision during the program. She said in a note to the “Today” staff that she plans to stay with the network in a new role that has not been specified. She will step away from “Today” early next year.
“They say two things can be right at the same time, and I’m feeling that so deeply right now,” Kotb wrote in a memo to staff. “I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”
In her tearful remarks on the air, she cited a desire to spend time with her young daughters.
“I had my kiddos late in life and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of the time pie that I have,” Kotb said.
Kotb has been co-host of the program alongside Savannah Guthrie since 2018, when she stepped into the role after Matt Lauer was fired over what the network called inappropriate sexual behavior. She is also the co-host of the fourth hour of the program with Jenna Bush.
Kotb said in her note she considered departing for some time and came to the decision after her 60th birthday was celebrated on Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, where fans gather daily to watch the show on its street level studio.
“My broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie,” Kotb wrote. “I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited.”
Kotb joined “Today” as part of the team that hosted its fourth hour and her presence across the franchise grew. She became co-host of a fourth hour with daytime TV legend Kathie Lee Gifford in 2008. The freewheeling atmosphere created by the pair was a departure for “Today” and became a pop culture sensation.
Viewers have watched her successfully battle breast cancer and adopt two children during her run on the program, where cast members often share the milestones and challenges in their personal lives.
Born in Norman, Oklahoma, to parents of Egyptian descent, Kotb graduated from Virginia Tech before launching a career in local TV. After stints in Fort Myers, Florida, and New Orleans, she joined NBC News as a correspondent for “Dateline” in 1998.
“Today” is likely to turn to one of the program’s other regulars to succeed Kotb. Craig Melvin, currently the program’s news anchor and third hour co-host, will be a leading candidate. A shift in hosts could also mean a higher profile role for Laura Jarrett, currently the network’s legal correspondent and co-host of the Saturday edition of “Today.”
Kotb’s departure comes at a time when the broadcast news divisions are looking to reduce costs. Many of the top anchors and hosts receive multimillion-dollar salaries based on audience levels that have diminished significantly in recent years as more consumers turn to streaming for news and information.
NBC News is expected to undergo significant cost and staff reductions after the presidential election in November. Cuts are coming to ABC News as well.
Earlier this week, CBS parted ways with “CBS Saturday Morning” co-anchor Jeff Glor as part of wider cost-cutting move at parent company Paramount Global. The program is likely to move forward with two co-hosts, Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson.
CBS is also moving Norah O’Donnell off “CBS Evening News” and replacing her with two lower-salaried anchors, John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois.
The morning programs are the most lucrative of the network news programs, but have diminished in ratings in recent years and no longer have the agenda-setting stature they long had in the media landscape. Still, their hosts are still the most recognizable faces in television, and viewers develop a deep connection to them.
“Today” has been in a tight ratings battle with ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Network news executives will be watching closely to see if Kotb’s departure will shift any viewing habits. She is a fan favorite on the program, seen as bringing personal warmth to the set.
