NBC Will Hide Megyn Kelly Inside Today
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NBC knows they have a problem on their hand, when it comes to Megyn Kelly.
Although anyone outside of 30 Rock knew that hiring Kelly was not a good move for NBC, they have to try and fix the mess.
Kelly's Sunday night show has bombed in the ratings and the NBC suits are scared the same thing is going to happen when they move Kelly to the morning.
But, they have a plan to try and make sure that Kelly's show is still considered part of the Today Show.
Variety writes that to sell Madison Avenue on her soon-to-launch new morning show, NBC is packaging the new anchor inside the familiar A.M. concept.
NBC has already indicated that Kelly’s program will be considered part of the overall “Today” franchise – and is using that to soothe marketers who might fret over supporting an unproven entry in the schedule. “It won’t be like ‘Today’ show ends at 8:59, Megyn Kelly’s new talk show starts at 9 and then ‘Today’ with Kathy Lee and Hoda starts at 10,” says one media buyer familiar with negotiations around Kelly’s new show. “She will be in a very protected spot” that nods to NBC’s bigger morning architecture, this buyer said.
NBC is also trying to figure out how to pay Kelly's fat contract and they are asking ad buyers to pay more with no promises of higher ratings.
That move has left some buyers with raised eyebrows. “They came out early saying they wanted a double-digit premium for Megyn Kelly versus what we used to pay for the 9-10 a.m. hour of ‘Today,’” said another buying executive. “What made this difficult to swallow was that they did not increase their ratings estimate.”
Looks like the old bait and switch is alive and well inside 30 Rock.
