The ratings for NBC’s “Today” show are up following the ouster of Megyn Kelly, who hosted the show’s 9 a.m. hour.
The network officially canceled Kelly’s program on Oct. 26 following several days of reruns.
The cancellation was ostensibly over comments Kelly made earlier that week questioning whether blackface or whiteface is racist, but a number of other reasons are believed to have contributed to her ouster, such as her show’s mediocre ratings and Kelly’s clashes with network executives.
Since Kelly’s exit, the third hour of “Today” has drawn in around 10 percent more viewers in the key demographic between the ages of 25 and 54, according to Nielsen figures cited by Variety. Kelly’s last week captured 675,000 viewers in that demographic; the week of Nov. 5 through Nov. 9, the show captured 741,000 viewers in that demographic.
Overall viewership was also up, from 2.52 million viewers to 2.63 million viewers.
Those increases are 10 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
Rotating Hosts
“Today” broadcasts from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. each weekday, but each hour can be different. The third hour is currently hosted by a rotating cast of “Today” anchors, including Craig Melvin, Jenna Bush Hager, Al Roker, and Savannah Guthrie.
“We are starting a new chapter in the third hour of our show,” Hota Kotb said on Oct. 29, as she anchored that first day with Melvin, Roker, and Guthrie, reported TV Insider. “The entire ‘Today’ family will continue to bring you informative and important stories, just as we always have.”
For the time being, sources told the blog, there’s no plan to permanently replace Kelly.
Newscast Studio, which reports on broadcast production, noted that the third hour has settled into a format: “With a ‘hot topics’ style segment topping the show where the talent discusses recent headlines.”
“The broadcast has also settled into a ‘look’ for this segment—with the logo of a publication that inspired the discussion and accompanying text below it,” it added. “The elements are layered over the sunrise background in the center segment of the video wall inside of a transparent box.”
