NBC To Stream 'Today' Show Highlights

NBC is hoping Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb will soon become an afternoon or evening one for a different kind of viewer.

Starting June 8, the duo will take the network’s nearly seven-decade-old “Today” show into new territory. The pair will add to their on-screen duties by anchoring a half-hour “highlights” recap meant to bring the most recent “Today” news to streaming audiences. Each weekday, Kotb and Guthrie will at 1 p.m. (and in repeats at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.) co-anchor “Today in 30,” a show that aims to give viewers of the network’s “Today All Day” streaming outlet and YouTube a summary of the best interviews and tips presented earlier that morning throughout all four hours of the “Today” linear broadcasts. Those who tune in will also get a few peeks behind the scenes of the show that morning viewers will not.

In doing so, the network is bending some of economics of TV. It’s no secret that the nation’s three big morning-news programs have been losing viewers in recent years. NBC, no doubt, hopes a boost in “Today” content aimed at streamers — a new cooking show from Al Roker and a shopping program led by contributor Jill Martin are also on the way, along with content from Vicky Nguyen and Stephanie Ruhle — will garner audiences for “Today” who might not have previously thought they could keep up with the show, or felt compelled to watch it in traditional fashion.

In recent months, some media companies have looked beyond those outlets. Fox News Channel last week said it would make available its popular primetime shows from Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham via its Fox Nation streaming service the morning after the programs aired on its mainstay cable outlet. Most TV-news organizations already post clips from live shows on social media within minutes of the live TV airing. The trick is often found in coming up with content that gives fans more content related to the news shows, rather than cannibalizing programming that is already drawing eyeballs and revenue.

The show means too much to NBC to not try to extend it into new venues. “Today” generated $357.6 million in advertising in 2020, according to Kantar — a hike of 11.5% from the $320.6 million it secured in 2018. But the program’s key viewers have been drifting away: Season to date as of May 16, the average audience for NBC’s “Today” between the ages of 25 and 54 is off 20% to around 1.03 million, according to Nielsen. The show’s two main rivals, ABC’s “Good Morning America” and CBS’ “CBS This Morning,” face similar trends, and “Today” has maintained its lead in that viewership category, the one that is most desired by advertisers in news programs.