Craig Melvin to Replace Hoda Kotb as ‘Today’ Co-Anchor

Craig Melvin will help lead NBC’s “Today” into tomorrow.

The NBC News stalwart, who has in recent years anchored and co-anchored hours on MSNBC and various parts of the venerable morning franchise, will step up to co-host the flagship 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. hours of “Today,” alongside Savannah Guthrie. Melvin will replace Hoda Kotb, who revealed in September that she intended to step away from full-time duties at the program.

Melvin has long been seen as a potential aspirant to the co-anchor role. He was given more prominent duties on “Today” in 2018, and has been co-anchoring the show’s 9 a.m. hour, His ascension will be relatively seamless for viewers. Kotb’s last official day at the show will be Friday, January 10, she announced on the program Thursday.

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Transitions of talent in morning TV can be fraught. Audiences come to think of the anchors as part of their daily routine, and don’t take kindly to such things being upset. At the same time, no one can anchor forever, and Kotb has cited a desire to spend more time with two young children.

“We are beyond thrilled to have Craig step into the co-anchor chair,” said Libby Leist, senior vice president of “Today,” in a statement to staff.“He’s been an integral and beloved part of our family. From breaking news coverage in the field, to presidential interviews, to multiple Olympics and Super Bowls, Craig’s shown he has the talent and the range to cover all that we do here at ‘Today.’ And he does it without ever losing that Southern charm.”

“Today” has enjoyed some recent momentum, owed in some part to NBC’s recent broadcasts of the Paris Olympics. In the past two weeks, however, “Today” captured bigger overall audiences than its main competitor, ABC’s “Good Morning America,” which typically leads in that category. “Today” has kept its lead among viewers between 25 and 54, the demographic most favored by advertisers in news programming.

NBC News will not announce a fill-in for Kotb’s other role, co-anchoring the 10 a.m. hour, which she does with Jenna Bush Hager and which is focused more on lifestyle topics. The NBCUniversal unit is expected to rely on a rotating series of co-hosts and will for the time being retitle the hour “Today with Jenna and Friends” until a permanent decision is made on talent. Hager is expected to work with a series of interesting guests, which could include both faces familiar to the program’s audience as well as celebrity surprises.

Melvin has worked with and for NBC for years. One of his first jobs was at WIS, an NBC affiliate in Columbia, South Carolina, where he initially worked in a post while he attended high school. He would return there after college to work as a producer and anchor. In 2008, Melvin joined WRC, NBC’s Washington, D.C. station, where he started anchoring weekend newscasts. He joined MSNBC in 2011.

Melvin will continue to co-host the third hour of “Today” with Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones.

More to come…