Report: Matt Lauer May Have To Take Pay Cut

Matt Lauer will reportedly be asked to take a pay cut if the "Today" show ratings don't improve. A source told RadarOnline.com, "Matt Lauer will be asked to take a significant cut in his $25 million salary if Today doesn't win the key November sweeps."

The insider continued, "The May and November sweeps dictate how much the networks can charge for advertising and they are extremely important to the bottom line. The Today show had always been a cash cow for NBC, generating hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue. Comcast, which now owns NBC Universal, is going through the budgets of each show and right now, they are focusing on the news division. Matt's salary is the biggest part of the Today show's budget and with Good Morning America now routinely beating them, it's just hard to justify that salary."

Despite the plan -- executives can't force Matt to slash his paycheck. The source explained, "Matt is under contract so it will have to be a voluntary decision, but the argument will be made that if he doesn't agree to lose some of his salary then people's jobs will have to be cut. Bottom line is money will have to be saved somewhere and he will be asked to do the 'right thing' by his staff."