NBC's Savannah Guthrie Skipping Rio Olympics

Savannah Guthrie

Today anchor Savannah Guthrie is expecting her second child, and that means she'll be skipping the Summer Olympics in Rio, where the mosquito-borne Zika virus has been blamed for severe birth defects. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the move makes Guthrie, 44, the most high-profile TV personality to opt out of the Games.

Guthrie made the announcement about her pregnancy Tuesday morning on Today, surrounded by her colleagues. "I’m not going to be able to go to Rio, so you’ll have to go to beach volleyball without me," she said, adding, "I’m looking forward to the campaign season."

NBCUniversal has said that employees concerned about traveling to Rio are not required to go. And so far, a handful of employees have declined. Noah Oppenheim, NBC News senior vp and executive in charge of Today, tells The Hollywood Reporter that Zika has “not been a source of very much angst” at the news division. “We’ve created a transparent culture here where people feel very comfortable raising a hand and saying, ‘You know what? I’d rather not make this trip.’ ”

The same policy was in place in 2014 for the network’s coverage of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where terrorism and security concerns caused some employees to stay away.