Hoda Kotb’s surprise announcement this week that she will step down as anchor of NBC’s “Today” was in part because the network asked her to take a pay cut, Puck News reported Friday.
According to Puckshe earned more than $20 million a year, a salary network executives told her she couldn’t justify anymore thanks to the changing broadcast landscape.
“NBC executives loved Hoda and knew her value to the brand, but also made it clear to her agents that such stratospheric contracts were no longer justifiable given the industry’s inexorable decline,” in part because of the sharp decline in ratings affecting “Today ” and competitors like “Good Morning America,” Puck reported.
In September 2014“Today” averaged 4.672 million total viewers. But this month the program was average 2.536 milliondespite barely beating rivals on other networks.
Representatives for NBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.
Kotb announced during Thursday’s episode of “Today” that she will step down and move to an as-yet-unspecified other role at NBC in early 2025.
In a memo to staff that Kotb also read on air, she said she made her decision in August after realizing “it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and try something new.”
“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” Kotb continued. “I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s painful. And you all are the reason for it. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I feel it so deeply right now. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”
Kotb has spent 10 of his 26 years at NBC on “Dateline,” seven at 7 a.m. on “Today” and 16 at 10 a.m. She helped launch the show’s fourth hour alongside Kathie Lee Gifford and Jenna Bush Hager.
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