Hoda Kotb’s tearful departure from the Today show on Thursday revealed the changing salaries female TV hosts are currently experiencing.
The reality is that networks could move away from using veteran broadcast talent who have graced American television screens for years.
Money is the biggest factor in this possible decision.
Hoda, 60, earned more than $20 million annually at NBC, Puck news reported.
Her co-host Savannah Guthrie, who called Hoda “our sunshine,” makes much the same point.
Hoda Kotb’s tearful departure from the Today show on Thursday revealed the changing salaries female TV hosts are currently experiencing
Hoda, 60, earned more than $20 million annually at NBC, Puck News reported
Her co-host Savannah Guthrie, who called Hoda “our sunshine,” makes much the same point
Hoda said her reason for leaving was to end her career on a high and spend more time with her children.
But the economic realities of broadcast media are putting pressure on the amount of payouts companies like NBC can make when terminating contracts with their veteran talent.
Today and Good Morning America averaged about 5 million viewers about a decade ago, but now their audiences have halved.
And as their viewership ages, their hold on the younger audience is virtually non-existent – with around 600,000 viewers in the 25 to 54 age range.
Companies like NBC now rely on paying their female anchors significantly less than the millions they shelled out to hosts like Hoda and Savannah.
Kaitlan Collins, 32, is the host of The Source, which airs on CNN at 9 p.m.
She makes $3 million a year, which would have been double that if she had entered the industry a decade ago, according to Puck News.
Kaitlan Collins, 32, is the host of The Source, which airs on CNN at 9 p.m. She earns $3 million a year – which, according to Puck News, would have been double if she had entered the industry a decade ago
NBC’s Rachel Maddow appears to be an outlier in this trend, making $30 million a year to host one night a week
NBC’s Rachel Maddow seems to be an outlier in this trend, making $30 million a year to host one night a week.
But Puck News said sources had informed them that the next contract would not offer a pay increase.
Even Skydance-Paramount’s CBS News is experiencing a cost-cutting future that revealed the company plans to remove Norah O’Donnell from CBS Evening News and replace her with a rotating cast of less economically demanding anchors.
Even Savannah couldn’t match the heights that Matt Lauer made at a whopping $25 million before he was ousted in 2017 over a sexual harassment scandal.
But the phasing out of veteran talent will most likely accelerate when it comes time for contract extensions and renegotiations.