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NBC executives probably wish they could turn back time to when Tamron Hall and Al Roker hosted the time slot that Megyn Kelly now occupies.

Page Six reports that ratings for “Megyn Kelly Today” is ruining NBC’s “Today” show franchise.

An unidentified source told the news outlet that Kelly’s program, which airs ahead of Kathie Lee [Gifford] and Hoda Kotb’s show, is dragging down ratings for “Kathie Lee & Hoda.”

“They’ve taken a huge hit with Megyn as their lead-in,” the source stated. Ratings for Kelly’s portion of the “Today” lineup are down 32 percent from last year when Hall and Roker hosted. The ratings downturn has caused “Kathie Lee & Hoda” to plummet 26 percent compared to the same time in 2016.

“Too many people are tuning out NBC,” the source added. “Hoda and Kathie Lee had been a bright spot in the mornings. People are alarmed.”

Things got off to a rocky start for Kelly’s new program, which launched in September. The debut drew 2.93 million viewers—a significant drop compared to 2016. Ratings for the debut were down 4 percent in the overall audience category.

In August, the executives were reportedly in “total panic” over fear that people of color, women and younger audiences would have no interest in watching Kelly’s morning show. They displaced Hall to bring the former Fox News star to its morning show audience. The National Association of Black Journalists described NBC’s move as a “whitewashing.”

A second insider source revealed to Page Six that there’s a lot of hand-wringing among the “Today” talent, adding that the format of Kelly’s program “doesn’t make sense.”

Page Six said an NBC source is downplaying the bad news, underscoring that Kelly’s show posted its highest rating among a key demographic on Monday.

“Everyone knows that ratings fluctuate at the start of a new show, and there has been nothing but support for Megyn from all of the ‘Today’ show hosts,” the NBC insider told the news outlet.

SOURCE:  Page Six

 

Megyn Kelly’s Poor Ratings Add To NBC’s Regret For Ousting Tamron Hall  was originally published on newsone.com