NBC is thinking about reshuffling its morning lineup in an effort to try and limit the damage done by its struggling mid-morning show Megyn Kelly Today.
Sources tell Page Six that network execs are considering moving the show.
Megyn Kelly’s show which began nine months ago has had a tough time finding viewers and the drop off has led to a fall in numbers for the program that follows it, hosted by Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb’.
In October Page Six reported that Gifford and Kotb’s ratings ‘took a huge hit’ after Kelly replaced Tamron Hall and Al Roker’s hour.
NBC is starting to think about reshuffling its morning lineup to limit the damage done by struggling Megyn Kelly Today
Kelly’s numbers are also dragging down Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb’s show, which follows straight afterwards at 10am
Gifford and Kotb were down by 26 percent, while Kelly was down 32 percent.
The plan now is to bring Gifford and Kotb’s show forward an hour replacing Kelly’s in a bit to recapture the viewers who turned off Kelly’s show who never bothered to return for Gifford and Kotb’s 10 a.m. hour.
Kelly first joined NBC in January 2017, on a highly publicized $23 million contract
‘It’s the smart move,’ said an insider of moving Kelly. ‘At the very least that limits the damage already done to Hoda and Kathie Lee — maybe with a strong lead-in from ‘Today’ at 9 a.m., they’ll even pick up some of the viewers they lost since Megyn went on the air.’
The 7-to-9 a.m. slot which is currently anchored by Kotb and Savannah Guthrie has been performing well since Matt Lauer was fired in November because of allegations of sexual misconduct.
Reps for NBC declined to comment about the schedule plans with one insider telling The New York Post, that is was ‘just another ‘timeless’ rumor about Megyn Kelly.’
Any change in the schedule would be simply the latest shuffle to occur since joining the network.
‘Months after Kelly was left behind while the rest of NBC’s top talent flew to South Korea to cover the Winter Olympics, the former Fox host had already been told that her Sunday news magazine had been downgraded from weekly to just ‘periodically.’
When Kelly first joined NBC in January 2017, on a highly publicized $23 million contract, Sunday Night was announced as a weekly show.
But it kicked off last June to average ratings and mixed reviews and ended after an eight-episode run – the highlight of which was her exclusive sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kelly’s morning show has been growing in popularity in recent months, after episodes focused on sexual harassment and gender equality, two major topics in the press recently
Kelly initially had a rocky start after joining NBC from Fox last year as her morning talk show, Megyn Kelly Today suffered from low ratings and she struggled to get celebrity guests
Kelly had a rocky start after joining NBC from Fox last year as her morning talk show, Megyn Kelly Today, suffered from low ratings and she struggled to get celebrity guests.
When Kelly first joined NBC in January 2017, on a highly publicized $23 million contract, Sunday Night (pictured) was announced as a weekly show
Her morning show has been growing in popularity in recent months, after episodes focused on sexual harassment and gender equality, two major topics in the press that helped boost ratings.
But its hasn’t all gone smoothly for Kelly who reportedly ‘threw an Olympic fit’ when she was told Katie Couric had been offered the job of covering the Winter Games opening ceremony for NBC earlier this year.
It was claimed Kelly had insisted that she should not be forced to cover special events as well as her usual responsibilities. But, according to a new report, she was under the impression that the firing of Matt Lauer over sexual misconduct allegations meant she was in line for the big events.
Kelly ‘thought she had it all played out perfectly, by saying ‘No’ before the Matt Lauer scandal’, according to Page Six.
Since Matt Lauer’s departure, Megyn Kelly (above on set of Today) is now the highest paid on-air personality of NBC
The report – which a separate insider said contained ‘zero truth’ – continues: ‘[NBC] was stupid enough to put in her contract that she could say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.’
It added that Kelly ‘complained to her staff’ so that the company’s chairman, Andy Lack, would hear about her being upset – but Lack reportedly ‘didn’t care’.
Page Six’s source – supposedly an insider at NBC – said Lack has now come to think of Kelly as a ‘diva’ who will not become part of the network’s ‘inner circle’.
Another NBC insider, however, said there was ‘zero truth’ to the story, adding: ‘[It’s] laughable since the [Winter Olympics opening ceremony is] the least desirable gig in broadcasting’.
This insider also rejected the notion that Lack, who fired Lauer himself, considers Kelly to be a ‘diva’.
The source concluded that ‘no one at NBC has ever heard him ever use the word ‘diva’ about anyone’.
She also came under fire recently, after being accused of making staffers cry, running a ‘tense’ set, and lying to managers to get her way at both Fox and now at NBC, PageSix reported recently.
Kelly reportedly ‘threw an Olympic fit’ when she was told Katie Couric had been offered the job of covering the Winter Games opening ceremony for NBC
A high-ranking veteran at NBC, who did not give their name, revealed that staffers frequently ‘cry’ on the set of Kelly’s show.
‘She is hated inside the Today Show and is seen as tarnishing the brand, out-of-control and selfish,’ the source said.
‘The general feeling is that she will not last three years,’ the sourced added.
In January Kelly fired Kevin Bleyer, one of her head writers, after he complained about bullying by the show’s two top bosses.
The office was described as a ‘completely toxic’ space.
Bleyer also said that young female assistants were ‘abused and harassed’ by executives who ‘scapegoat’ and launched f-word tirades.