“I don’t like change in the morning,” incoming “Today” co-anchor Ann Curry told reporters Monday, likely speaking for most of America’s morning TV viewers.
She spoke at a love-in of a media conference, confirming the current worst-kept secret in television: Meredith Vieira is leaving “Today” as of June 8, to be succeeded by longtime news reader Curry alongside Matt Lauer.
In some of TV’s most intimate hours, when teams of ferociously amiable personalities nudge the waking audience into a new day, habits are entrenched. Still, the new weather-headline-chat providers won’t feel shocking to longtime “Today” viewers, since they’ve spent years with both Vieira and (as a fill-in) Curry on the couch. Curry’s reputation is for her big-heartedness; Vieira is admired for her journalistic range and self-deprecating humor.
The change prompts a domino effect: Third-hour co-host Natalie Morales moves up to become “Today’s” news anchor; NBC News White House correspondent and MSNBC co-anchor Savannah Guthrie succeeds Morales as co-host of “Today’s” third hour (her successor on MSNBC is yet to be determined.)
At the media conference, executives and talent put on display the mutual admiration society that is “Today” past and future, promising a “seamless transition” of TV’s longstanding No. 1 morning show.
Locally, “Today” dominates the field, attracting more than double the audience of the morning-show competition.
For the first four months of this year, among 25-54-year-olds, NBC’s “Today” on KUSA averaged a 15.1 share (percent of the viewing audience).
CBS’s “The Early Show” on KCNC averaged a 3.7 share. ABC’s “Good Morning America” on KMGH averaged a 6.6 share.
That means 74,000 people regularly watch “Today” in the Denver TV market; 51,000 regularly watch “GMA,” and 20,000 watch “The Early Show.”
While “GMA” is on the rise and “The Early Show” is flat, the trend is downward for “Today,” compared with a year ago. Locally, “Today” on KUSA in 2011 lost 10,000 viewers compared with 2010.
In New York, all hands stressed the “seamless” continuity of television’s oldest morning show. Those with long memories recall the segue was smooth when Vieira took over from Katie Couric in 2006; it wasn’t when Deborah Norville took over from Jane Pauley in 1990. (She lasted barely a year.)
“I will say unequivocally,” Lauer stated, “I’ve never enjoyed working with anyone more than Meredith.” He declined to assess the relative strengths of his previous co-anchors, other than to say “Katie (Couric) was the shortest. . . .”
Viewers are accustomed to seeing Curry beside Lauer as a pinch-hitter. “This is exactly the way it is set up to work,” Lauer said. “Ann and I have hosted together 200 times in 15 years.”
Vieira, co-anchor for five years, acknowledged debating her departure since January. “Personal issues were weighing on me,” she said, yet she remained undecided “up to the last minute.” Her last show is the day before her daughter Lily graduates from high school. Her son graduates from college soon after, then the family plans a vacation.
Spouse’s health “good”
She denied rumors that her husband’s health — he has multiple sclerosis — had triggered her decision. “My husband, Richard, is in good health, part of the reason I want to leave now. I appreciate what that means in a very deep way. I want to appreciate our time together and not have to punch clocks so much.”
Speculation in the press “diminished him and it diminished me,” she said.
NBC News executives said Vieira is welcome to report for “Today” and contribute “other projects” in an unspecified ongoing relationship.
The comings and goings in broadcast TV, not least the impending departure of Couric from the CBS News anchor chair, have led some industry observers to speculate that the importance of those figureheads is diminished in today’s fragmented media landscape. NBC News chief Steve Capus disagreed, claiming, “These are the franchise players. . . . To play at this level, you have to be at the top of your game. The audience has very high expectations of what a network like ours represents.”
However, NBC’s new owner, Comcast Corp., also has very high expectations.
Comcast knows “Today” is NBC’s largest producer of ad revenue, bringing in some $500 million a year. Comcast will be watching any ratings fluctuation closely. With NBC’s prime time ratings weak, and with ABC making noises about closing the ratings gap in the morning, the pressure is on.
For his part, Lauer denied rumors that he may decline to renew his contract, which expires in 2012. “My oldest son graduates June 2020,” he said. “I’m gonna be here for a while.”
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
