RAISE THE ROOF
Tis ticking — just like on new rival, “60 Minutes.” With little more than three months to go, NBC News has yet to figure out who will be in charge of the former Fox News star’s new morning show, sources tell Confidential. Kelly (photo) has two new shows in the wings: Her Sunday program will air directly against “60 Minutes” starting June 4, and her daily morning show will air at 9 a.m. starting in September — a time slot currently smack in the middle of the “Today” show. There are many questions about how her Sunday night show will look and what it will be about — word is Kelly has been angling for a sitdown interview with Russian strongman But it’s the morning show that’s got TV industry people buzzing: NBC News has yet to find an executive producer and more troubling, hasn’t decided if the hour-long telecast will remain part of the “Today” show brand. “It’s all still up in the air,” a network snitch tells us. “There’s only three months to go before it starts and they still haven’t said who will run the show or how it will be related to ‘Today.’ ”
There has been talk internally at NBC of cutting “Today” down to two hours from its current four, adding Kelly’s hour at 9 a.m. and then spinning off the show’s fourth hour, featuring and into its own, non-“Today”-branded program.
“They’ve got to figure this out soon,” the source said. “They’re running out of time.” Kelly left Fox News in January to join NBC.
“In five months, they haven’t found someone to run it,” a network snitch tells Confidential. “The most recent person to turn it down is who was one of
closest advisers.” Rather than try to manage Kelly’s high-profile morning gig, Erspamer opted for the more cushy job of producing a daytime show for “American Idol” alum
An NBC News source counters that there are actually several candidates within NBC News vying for the job, while network brass is still talking to people from outside the company, too.
“We’re talking about live morning television,” a morning show veteran told us. “Someone with experience, a vision and a knack for handling talent can slip in there and put everything together in a matter of weeks. Three months to go? That’s an eternity in morning television.” Midtown’s Sanctuary Hotel will open its Haven Rooftop lounge for summer on Wednesday with a big bash. We’re told that hoteliers and have invited friends including tennis pro pop singer and ageless supermodel (inset) to check out the new design. That fresh look includes “a St. Barts resort, red revamp, complete with champagne guns, and on opening night, will feature beauties from Dale Noel’s True Model Management.”