Finally admitting one of the worst guarded secrets in the history of network television, affable Today Show host Meredith Vieira announced this morning she will be leaving the morning ratings leader. She’ll be replaced by co-star Ann Curry who’s been on the show in some capacity for over a decade. Five years ago, speculation was rampant that Curry, not Vieira, would pick up the pieces after Katie Couric bolted for the open nightly news anchor job at CBS, but NBC instead went in another direction. It would be easy to question that decision in retrospect as Curry has ultimately picked up the job, but five years of solid first place numbers with Vieira can hardly be considered a mistake.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, one of the reasons behind Curry’s promotion may have to do with her contract. Written in is a clause that would allow her to sever her partnership with NBC if the network hired two new anchors to run Today. She was already passed over once, and this would have been the second time. Something tells me either ABC or CBS would have jumped at the chance to bring her on board, but in all honesty, Curry likely would have been picked anyway. She’s very popular among Today viewers, and her promotion keeps a level of consistency that ratings leaders typically look for.
The future is still a bit uncertain for Meredith Vieira, but with a sick husband and five years of strain from walking up way too early, the host could certainly use a break. In the meantime, she’ll continue presiding over syndicated Who Wants To Be A Millionaire episodes.
