Nbc, Ann Curry | featured news

NBC is changing the backstage leadership at its struggling "Today" show, which has consistently been behind ABC's "Good Morning America" in the ratings since replacing Ann Curry as an anchor this summer.

A majority of morning viewers has greeted the arrival of Savannah Guthrie with a yawn in her first week as "Today" show co-anchor.

NBC's "Today" was beaten last week by ABC archrival "Good Morning America" by 357,000 viewers, the Nielson Co. said. "GMA" drew an average of 4.57 million viewers, compared with 4.21 million for "Today," according to preliminary Nielsen figures released Monday. This represents the largest lead by "GMA" over "Today" in more than 17 years, while extending its top-ranked status to three consecutive weeks, ABC said.

After a bad couple of weeks clunkily extracting Ann Curry as co-host of its morning infotainment show, NBC News found itself dealing with another unpleasant personnel report this week: David Gregory is on his way out as host of the network’s Sunday Beltway show, “Meet the Press.”

She confirmed in the interview that the exit was NBC’s idea, not her own, and said she considered leaving the network altogether. Instead, she has accepted a proposal to become a roving correspondent for the network. Although co-hosting “Today” was her dream job, she said, “In my secret heart of hearts, I see this as a thrilling opportunity. To have a ticket to every big story in the world — no small matter.”

Planning to replace Ms. Curry only a year after she became a co-host is effectively an admission that all is not well at “Today,” whose once reliably high ratings have dropped.

Meredith Vieira said Monday that she will leave NBC's "Today" show next month to spend more time with her family, and Ann Curry will replace her as host.