Hoda Kotb Appointed for 'Today' as Matt Lauer's Replacement! NBC Serves Justice

The longtime member of NBC franchise, Hoda  Kotb has been appointed as the new anchor of “The Today Show” on January 2, 2018, as per the official announcement on January 2, 2018.

Just a few days after the start of 2018, Hoda came as a replacement of former anchor Matt Lauer, who was fired from NBC amid sexual harassment allegations. 

Hoda Kotb, who first joined the NBC in 1998 as a Dateline correspondent, made her way to the anchor desk of NBC morning talk show Today along with Savannah Guthrie.

Before Hoda was officially made an anchor, NBC's News Chairman Andy Lack sent an official letter to all staffs after an internal investigation on Matt Lauer, who also allegedly had an affair with Natalie Morales.

However, Savannah Guthrie, the co-host of "Today" revealed the official announcement on January 2, 2018, with a warm welcome that said,

"It's 2018 and we're kicking it right because Hoda is officially the co-anchor of Today. Let's give her a round of applause."

Guthrie even expressed her excitement on her Tuesday broadcast after the crew's round of applause.

“This has to be the most popular decision NBC News has ever made, and I am so thrilled,”

Hoda Kotb exposed the mixture of happiness with surprise saying that she is pinching herself.

“We’ve been sitting together for, like, more than a year, kind of, anyway, so I just got a little closer – I scooted over a little to Savannah.”

It is not the first time for a morning show to be led by two women, previously, Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts had led Good Morning America. However, it is a rare thing to see in the morning show. 

Meanwhile, Kotb also explained the negotiation between her and the network. She stated,

'We talked about it a little around Christmastime and we were talking about it because it was sort of a natural thing… and it just sort of felt like, I guess, a natural progression. It felt kind of comfortable, I think.'

Kotb's new co-host, Guthrie also shared her part of the excitement saying that none of this was planned. She continued,

'None of this was planned, obviously but then when we all saw how much it worked and how good it felt and how we hope viewers like this pairing, too, it was kind of a no-brainer: Of course, we want to keep it going.'

Matt Lauer, the anchor which Kotb replaced also has less of hard feelings with Kotb. Hinting no sign of bad blood between them, Kotb revealed that Matt Lauer sent her a text on Tuesday after the official announcement.

“Matt sent a text this morning, saying congrats and that meant a lot, meant the world,”

On the incident, her co-host Savannah Guthrie added her views, saying,

“There is no question our hearts are with Matt and always will be and we love him. There is no one that would be cheering Hoda more than Matt.”

The excitement of Kotb's promotion was no less than a wildfire as the friends and competitors began expressing their side of happiness. Different anchors like Tom Brokaw, Ana Cabrera, and Mindy Kaling congratulated Hoda Kotb for her promotion on NBC network on their social media. 

The NBC network's move made Hoda Kotb one of the most vital figures at NBC News expecting to bring new progressive changes. The first two hours of "Today," who boasted more than $500 million of revenue in 2016, is definitely expected to raise their revenue along with their overwhelming audiences.

Hoda is currently floating on her $12 million net worth accumulated from her salary, i.e. $2 million. The amount has escalated to a whopping $7 million annually; however, the sum still remains less than her predecessor Matt Lauer, who, while reigning on Today, received an estimated salary of $25 million.

The series of success might be already started; NBC defeated the rival show "Good Morning America" every week since Mr. Lauer got fired. The feat was left unbroken for more than five years to do something like that for four consecutive weeks. 

Hoda Kotb will still host the 10 a.m. hour of "Today" with her co-host, Kathie Lee Gifford, as per the announcement on Tuesday, Jan 2, 2018.