Last week, Hoda Kotb made the emotional announcement that after 17 years on Today, she’s made the hard decision to walk away from the show to spend more time with her daughters. But in the days since she shared the news publicly, insiders are claiming that there was more to the longtime anchor’s departure, and it sounds like money may have been a big part of what pushed her to close this chapter of her career.
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Hoda made the announcement on September 26.
It clearly wasn’t an easy decision for her, judging by how emotional she became while sharing the news with her coworkers and the audience.
“I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new,” she said on the show. “I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs, and I thought, ‘This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.’ And I thought it can’t get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on.”
After reevaluating her priorities, she decided to dedicate more of her time to her daughters.
Hoda is mom to 7-year-old Haley and 4-year-old Hope, and she said that they “deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have.”
But according to media outlet Puck, her decision may have also been a financial one. Hoda reportedly earned $20 million per year for her work at NBC, and a source said dishing out that kind of cash “wasn’t possible” in today’s “broadcast landscape.”
Viewership for shows like 'Today' has been on the decline.
And because of that, a source claimed that the network just couldn’t justify shelling out the amount of cash she wanted to negotiate into a new contract.
“NBC executives loved Hoda and knew her value to the brand, but also made clear to her agents that such stratospheric contracts were no longer justifiable given the industry’s inexorable decline,” the insider said.
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Another source is claiming that contract negotiations fell through around the time Hoda decided to leave as well.
As one insider told Closer, not finding the funds that even a big name like Hoda was asking for is a “warning shot to other big-name stars and anchors that the days of huge contracts are over.”
Other popular figures on NBC could be in danger too, including Al Roker. The source added, “They know the writing is on the wall.”
It's totally possible that Hoda's biggest reason for leaving truly is her kids.
It makes sense — they’re still so young, and her job at Today is no doubt a demanding one. It’s hard to blame her for wanting to spend more time with her daughters, especially if NBC wasn’t willing or able to give her the salary that would make it worth her while to stay.
Hoda will finish out the rest of the year on Today and said she plans to sign off for the final time in early 2025. Until then … let the guessing game about who her replacement will be begin!
