‘Megyn Kelly Today’ Could See A New Time Slot As NBC Struggles With Ratings

Megyn Kelly Today could soon be moving to a new time slot after NBC network executives attempt to undo the damage done by the news anchor’s struggling ratings.

Sources tell Page Six that the network is considering moving Megyn Kelly Today to an hour later in the morning lineup. Megyn’s hour would be replaced by the hour of Today that is hosted by Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, a ratings winner for the network. Kotb is also an anchor of Today.

Page Six reported in October 2017 that Gifford and Kotb’s ratings “took a huge hit” after Kelly’s series was brought in at the 9 a.m. hour. Allegedly, viewers who turned off their televisions for Kelly’s show never tuned back in for the hour hosted by the popular duo of Gifford and Kotb.

“It’s the smart move,” said an insider of the switch to Page Six. “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 Today Show has been on the rebound since Kotb took over for Matt Lauer, who was fired in November after allegations of sexual misconduct were lobbied against the stalwart news anchor. Kotb, alongside Savannah Guthrie, is a fan favorite. The switch would allow Kotb to finish her shift for the network in a three-hour block, instead of working on Today and then waiting an hour to return to the air with Gifford.

NBC took a big risk with Kelly, who signed with the news network in January 2017 for a reported $20 million per year salary. Rumor has it that staffers of the NBC news series are still unhappy with the anchor’s image.

“She is hated inside the Today show and is seen as tarnishing the brand, out of control and selfish,” alleged an NBC source to Page Six.

The source also claimed that Kelly has not lived up to the happy-go-lucky demeanor of a morning talk show host.

“There are some rules when you’re doing segments,” said a source to Page Six. “If you’re a host, you go along with whatever the expert says. If you eat something and you don’t like it, you don’t say you don’t like it. If you think a tip is dumb, you don’t say it. But Megyn doesn’t play along. She rolls her eyes a lot and says, ‘Oh, come on!’ It’s like she’s trying to divorce herself from the cheesiness of morning television.”

NBC landed the popular news anchor in January 2017 for a rumored $23 million-a-year contract, $2 million less than former Today anchor Matt Lauer’s paycheck. Kelly also makes more than Today lead anchors Kotb and Guthrie combined.

The rumors have been debunked by an NBC staffer who reportedly quipped to Page Six that Kelly’s numbers are heading upward and this is “just another ‘timeless’ rumor about Megyn Kelly.”