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Saturday, January 28, 2017

Report: Megyn To Air Either 9 or 10AM on NBC

NBC News is firming up plans for Megyn Kelly.

Kelly, who exited Fox News earlier this month, will join NBC in May. And her new morning show will premiere this fall, according to USAToday.

Undecided, as yet: Whether Kelly will air at 9 a.m. ET/PT — bridging the gap between the first two hours of Today and the lighter fourth hour featuring Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford — or at 10 a.m., in which case Kotb and Gifford's giggle-fest would move an hour earlier. The current 9 a.m. hour, fronted by Al Roker and Tamron Hall, will disappear by fall in either event, though both are expected to remain at the network.

NBC News is not commenting -- apparently the 9 versus 10 a.m. decision hasn't been made -- but the current 9 a.m. show is definitely going away, and 9 a.m. hour staffers found out on Friday.


Kelly's contract at Fox was due to expire this year,  and she implicated former Fox News chief Roger Ailes in a sexual harassment scandal. It's unclear how many Fox viewers will follow her to her new home, but her new show will likely seem familiar to her fans. "What I'm hearing is she's doing a daytime version of what she did at Fox," adapted for a morning format, with lifestyle and entertainment stories blended with newsmaker interviews, says Bill Carroll, analyst at Katz Television Group, who advises local stations on programming.

Carroll says that while Kelly would face less competition at 10, "it would be to her advantage to be at 9," where Today's lead-in and promotional ability would provide a seamless transition."She'd be better off as an extension of something that's working than another island."

Meanwhile, the rumors continue to swirl that Kelly is being groomed to take over Savannah Guthrie’s anchor spot on the flagship show.  PageSix at the NY Post reports “Savannah is upset. She’s not convinced that Megyn doesn’t want her job. She was told about them hiring her 30 minutes before they made the announcement.”

But NBC said earlier this month, “We just signed Savannah to a massive deal that is longer than Megyn’s. A lead anchor role at ‘Today’ isn’t part of the conversation for Megyn.”

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