Hoda Kotb Expected to Earn Less Than Matt Lauer on 'Today' | THR News - video Dailymotion

After ending the year firing network star Matt Lauer for "inappropriate sexual behavior," NBC News' first move of 2018 is a make-good.

Transcript

00:00Hoda Kotb has been named Matt Lauer's permanent replacement as co-anchor of

00:04Today's first two hours. But when it comes to salary, she's expected to earn far

00:08less than Lauer did. After NBC News ended the year firing network star Lauer for

00:13inappropriate sexual behavior, Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie called their

00:17first move of 2018 the most popular decision NBC News has ever made. The

00:22decision received rave reviews from present and former Today colleagues,

00:26including Tamron Hall. Journalism professor Barbara Cochran, a former

00:29NBC News and CBS News executive, told THR,

00:39Kotb, who will continue to co-host the 10 a.m. hour with Kathie Lee Gifford, had

00:43been filling in since Lauer was fired in late November after a complaint of sexual

00:47misconduct. Guthrie and Kotb will form the first female anchor duo in Today history.

00:52And while NBC wouldn't discuss Kotb's compensation, she's expected to earn far

00:56less than Lauer's annual salary of $20 million. Lauer's high salary stemmed from his star

01:02presence and decades of service for the highly lucrative morning show. This is a

01:06symptom of the correct economic decision to downsize the role and not throw

01:10millions and millions of dollars at it. According to independent news analyst and

01:13frequent THR contributor Andrew Tindall, he speculates that Kotb could make roughly

01:18five million a year in her new role. In picking Kotb, the network opted for an in-house replacement.

01:24Other rumored internal candidates included Sunday Today host Willie Geist and 9 a.m.

01:29host Megyn Kelly. Former CBS News president Andrew Hayward told THR,

01:33I'm sure Kotb is going to make a good dollar, but the big splashy outside talent raid is maybe

01:39yesterday's news. For more on this story, head to THR.com and let me know in the comments

01:43if you're loving Hoda in the anchor chair. For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.