Savannah Guthrie & Hoda Kotb to Host ‘Today’ Highlights Show on Streaming Services
Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb will be heading up a Today highlights show that will air throughout the day on NBC’s streaming services.
According to Variety, the co-anchors of the long-running morning show will expand their presenting duties with Today in 30, a half-hour “highlights” recap show summarizing the best interviews and tips from that morning’s Today broadcast. The show will air each weekday at 1 PM (with repeats at 7 PM and 9 PM) on the network’s Today All Day streaming outlet and YouTube channel. Viewers will also get some exclusive behind-the-scenes sneak peeks not seen in the morning show.
“We offer four hours of live TV that not every busy human being can see,” said NBC News senior vice president Libby Leist, who oversees everything to do with the Today show. “We feel like this next-generation Today show audience wants to go watch this content in a streaming service.”
Last year, NBC launched Today All Day, a 24/7 video feed that features various Today clips, from recent reports to archive footage. This comes as viewers are consuming content in other ways than traditional broadcast television. Alongside streaming video, Today has also expanded to satellite radio and even book clubs, and Leist believes there are more avenues to explore. “I’m working on other content that is living beyond the broadcast,” she stated.
Guthrie and Kotb have been hosting the Today show under strict COVID-19 social distancing regulations in recent months, a disruption that has altered the feel of the show. “I’m a team person, I used to play high-school basketball, and there’s a team aspect to this. I like the high fives,” Kotb told Variety in March. “[The protocols] alter the chemistry of the place.”
She added: “We want people who have faces in the glass. We want to wave to people who make signs that say, ‘Hey, Mom, I waited my whole life to come on the Today Show. The minute we can get outside and see people and have them enjoy music together? I dream about that day.”
