Ann Curry is preparing to exit NBC’s Today Show and insiders say the morning talk host is demanding that the network pay her the remaining $20 million left on her three-year contract.
Curry is currently earning $10 million per Today Show season and has only completed one year on her three-year deal. Sources say executives at NBC don’t want to pay her the full $20 million balance and are attempting to work out a better deal.
Sources say Ann wants the full $20 million and her exit papers, however NBC instead wants to pay her $10 million and offer her a foreign correspondent job.
Another option would be for NBC to pay the full amount owed but then have Ann Curry sign a non-compete agreement that would keep her off television until her full three-year contract expires in 2014. A non-compete payment is not uncommon in the TV industry, you may recall that late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien was paid a lucrative amount to stay off the air for one year following the Jay Leno fiasco.
In the meantime another source reveals that Savannah Guthrie has already agreed to terms with network executives and will take over as the co-anchor of Today where she will host next to Matt Lauer. Earlier in the week we reported that Hoda Kotb was in the running for the job and had tested better than Guthrie with test audiences and network officials have yet to confirm Curry’s replacement in one way or another.
Who do you think should stand next to Matt Lauer in the Today Show co-anchor position?
