John Nacion
A brutal truth was submerged within the river of tears on Thursday's Today show after co-anchor Hoda Kotb announced her departure after six years of co-anchoring the main 7-9 a.m. show. Her departure starkly symbolizes how the era of the all-powerful morning TV anchor is coming to an end.
“Next year’s going to be a bloodbath,” a news executive inside 30 Rock told The Daily Beast, referencing the top-dollar salaries news anchors have commissioned for years. “All these big moneymakers, they’re all gone.”
Kotb inked a $7 million-a-year deal in 2018 when she took over the Today gig, according to Page Six (she also presents the fourth-hour of Today, first alongside Kathie Lee Gifford, and now Jenna Bush Hager). Her main show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie reportedly makes “significantly more than” $8 million a year, according to a 2020 Page Six report that outlined her deal negotiations at the time.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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