Morning Show, The Today Show | featured news

Matt Lauer told advertisers Thursday that he wants to get the "Today" show back to being the most watched and least talked about morning show on television, and that he expects to do it.

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.

After a 17-year winning streak in the ratings, "GMA" overtook "Today" during a couple of weeks last spring. With the exception of two weeks when "Today" broadcast from the London Olympics, the ABC show has won consistently since Curry's dismissal, by margins as much as 800,000 viewers.

NBC's hopes that the London Olympics would boost the struggling "Today" show have been rewarded and then some. The once-dominant morning news show beat ABC's "Good Morning America" by an average of 1.6 million viewers each day last week, the Nielsen ratings company said Monday. That's the most dominant week for "Today" since the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

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.

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.”

Savannah Guthrie has officially been asked to replace Ann Curry as the co-host of "Today," according to multiple reports on Tuesday night. The Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times wrote that NBC News had formally offered the job to Guthrie, currently one of the hosts of the show's third hour... Curry will also reportedly be given at least $10 million to walk away.

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.

Where in the world in Matt Lauer? Looks like he'll be at Rockefeller Plaza for quite a while. Although Lauer won't make the official announcement until tomorrow, NBC News confirms that the Today cohost has signed a long-term deal with the show. "Matt is the franchise, and our franchise player has decided to keep leading our team," Steve Capus, President of NBC News, told The New York Times.

Meredith Vieira has spent her last morning hosting TV's most-watched morning show. The popular "Today" co-anchor ended her five-year run on Wednesday, telling viewers her decision to go is "right, but it's hard."