NBC to shuffle ‘Today’ for Kelly

NBC is dropping the third hour of its morning show “Today” to make room for a new talk show with former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.

Staffers of the third-hour show, known as “Today’s Take,” were informed of the decision after Friday’s program. An NBC representative declined to comment.

Kelly’s new show will debut in the fall and air in the 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. hour, said two people familiar with the plans who were not authorized to comment publicly.

If it airs at 10 a.m., the current fourth hour of “Today” with Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford will move to 9 a.m.

Other people, who work at “Today” who have been briefed on the plan but were not authorized to discuss them, said NBC News is leaning toward giving Kelly the 10 a.m. slot with a live show in front of a studio audience. If that’s the case, it will not have the “Today” brand name.

Al Roker, the weather anchor for “Today” from 7 to 9 a.m., and Tamron Hall are the current co-anchors of the third hour. There is a desire among NBC News management to keep Hall as part of the “Today” family but no plans have been finalized. Hall, the first African American woman to be a regular co-anchor on “Today,” is also a daytime news anchor on MSNBC.

Kelly agreed to join NBC News in January but is under contract to Fox News until July.

Kelly, 46, became a breakout TV news star after her tough questioning of Donald Trump during the first Republican presidential primary debate in 2015. Trump ridiculed Kelly in TV interviews and on social media in the months that followed. But his criticism only propelled her fame and likely motivated her to seek a wider platform than Fox News.