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Should NBC consider cutting "Today" back to two hours?

A

AKA

In the midst of all this talk of the unlikability of Matt Lauer and the need to replace him, one thing I haven't seen discussed is the length of Today, which is twice as long as its two main competitors. In other words, Today fails to do in four hours what Good Morning America accomplishes in just two.

Does Today need to be a giant, four-hour behemoth? I don't think so, and there are several NBC affiliates who seem to agree—specifically those that either delay the back half of the show (instead opting to air more profitable syndicated programming at 9 am), and the ones that pre-empt the trainwreck that is Kathie Lee and Hoda altogether.

The expansion of Today—in addition to the gradual forfeiture of time to the affiliates—was at the expense of other NBC daytime programming, which the network decided was no longer profitable. This is a shame, especially given the Peacock's rich history of game shows, soaps, midday news updates and even sitcom reruns. Aside from Today, NBC now only has one show on its daytime schedule (ABC and CBS have three and five, respectively), a stark contrast from three-hour game show blocks and three-hour soap blocks a couple of decades ago.

Is there a certain level of Today fatigue among viewers? Could cutting the show back to a more focused two hours relieve some of its ratings woes? Would the development of two to four new daytime shows cause more damage to a network that is already having a hard time keeping its head above water, or would it be a much needed shot in the arm?
 
Maybe the question should be should NBC stop calling those other two shows "Today?"

Maybe the so-called "fourth hour" should be "Live with Hoda and Kathie Lee."

All they've done is weaken the Today "brand," probably because they can't come up with shows able to stand on their own.

I doubt anybody watches all four hour, certainly not because all four are called "Today" and use the same set.
 
Wasn't the fourth hour of Today, made to fill the void left by passions leaving the air? I agree that they over use the "TODAY" brand, Did they really have to give local an hour of programing to fill that hour? Anyone know how many stations don't air the show? (Kathie&Hoda) My station air's it on a one hour delay. I think to going back to 2 hours would be a good thing the third hour is just filled up with nonsense anyway.
 
I could see the fourth hour (airing 10-11 A.M. in most cities; 11 A.M. to 12 Noon in a few cities like Boston) being retitled and no longer under the auspices of either "Today" or NBC News, but I suspect the third hour (airing 9-10 A.M. in most cities; 10 to 11 A.M. in Boston and a handful of other places) will stay.

Perhaps, whether or not Matt Lauer leaves, the host team of the first two hours should also preside over the third hour, with the third hour's format closer to that of the 7 to 9 A.M. portion.

Should the fourth hour no longer be part of "Today" or NBC News, would it still be done between 10 and 11 A.M. EDT/EST?? And if so, would stations still have to air it at 10 or 11 A.M. local, or could it be run later on in the day??
 
Being that WVIT-TV channel 30 of New Britain/Hartford is an NBC O&O affiliate, we're stuck with all four hours here. :(
 
I won't feel sorry if NBC ever does give the Kathie Lee and Hoda the boot, especially after last week, when they had a lengthy segment about women grooming their -- nether regions. If Dave Garroway was still alive today, he would have had a heart attack and died last week.

The only way I would watch that fourth hour dreck is if they shown Hoda the door and bring on Regis Philbin as co-host.
 
I think NBC might consider down to 3, rather than 4 to 2. From past experience with "Later Today", NBC realized that it was more profitable tying into Today rather than having a separate branded show. Why the third hour: I'd think they'd want to keep Al Roker's hour. The Kathie Lee and Hoda hour, however is totally off track from the original two hours.

It's a good thing that the NBC O&Os found some success with the Steve Harvey/Ellen combo in daytime.
 
Are any independent NBC affiliates running syndicated programs at 9am or 10am, rather than pseudo-Today? How well do those shows do?
 
Both KNVN here in the Chico/Redding, CA market and KCRA Sacramemto run Kelly and Michael at 9, delaying the third hour of Today to 10. KNVN airs Kathie Lee and Hoda at 11, while KCRA opts instead for Anderson Live.
 
Why is it that Kelly and Michael is syndicated, but Kathie Lee and Hoda, NBC's attempt to rip it off, is not only network but part of Today?
 
ding12 said:
The Kathie Lee and Hoda hour, however is totally off track from the original two hours.[/qu

100% agree. The fourth hour is an entirely different animal. First off, every Friday is pre-taped. They pre-tape heavily throughout the year, especially around holidays/events. When the show went to Southern CA for two weeks last month, they taped all 10 episodes in 3-4 days at the very beginning, so by the second Friday, the show was well over a week old. Every so often, they will joke about being part of "NBC News". I don't recall ever seeing or hearing about any crossover from the earlier hours, aside from a random guest who makes a second appearance during Hour Four. Willie Geist has guest-co-hosted with Hoda, though lately they have been using their celebrity guests as co-hosts when Kathie Lee is away for her many vacations.

The hour is built as a standalone hour that can air anytime. That's likely why it also semi-succeeds as a 205AM late night filler/rerun. There really isn't any need to syndicate it. NBC gets all the money already.
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Why do they allow them to pre-record Fridays?? They can't work five days a week? I'll never understand why they allow people who are making millions to only work 4 days. Live with K&M tape Friday's sometimes and every Friday during the summer they pre-tape. Again they can't come in on Fridays because it's summer makes no sense. If I made the contacts and they wanted Fridays off I would just laugh and say well lets cut pay. I mean shouldn't a show with "LIVE" in the title be "LIVE"?
 
I'm sure the logic for taping Friday's shows goes like this:
Kathie Lee: I know, NBC lets us drink wine on the set, but Ellen gets 6 weeks off a year.
NBC: What if we gave you a three day weekend every week?
Kathie Lee: Give me a daily shot of bourbon in my dressing room and its a deal.
 
SanDiegoInExile said:
ding12 said:
The Kathie Lee and Hoda hour, however is totally off track from the original two hours.[/qu

100% agree. The fourth hour is an entirely different animal. First off, every Friday is pre-taped. They pre-tape heavily throughout the year, especially around holidays/events. When the show went to Southern CA for two weeks last month, they taped all 10 episodes in 3-4 days at the very beginning, so by the second Friday, the show was well over a week old. Every so often, they will joke about being part of "NBC News". I don't recall ever seeing or hearing about any crossover from the earlier hours, aside from a random guest who makes a second appearance during Hour Four. Willie Geist has guest-co-hosted with Hoda, though lately they have been using their celebrity guests as co-hosts when Kathie Lee is away for her many vacations.

The hour is built as a standalone hour that can air anytime. That's likely why it also semi-succeeds as a 205AM late night filler/rerun. There really isn't any need to syndicate it. NBC gets all the money already.
Click to expand...
I never understood the point of them going to LA in the first place,let alone the taped shows.. Just another excuse to have MORE time off. I would love to know who sought out who when Kathie Lee was added to the show. Another thing do NBC stations have to carry the late night reruns? K&H,Mad Money.. I don't know why they just don't replay old Leno,Fallon shows like they did a few years ago.
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I can't imagine they wouldn't let affiliates run infomercials in late night if they wanted. I know KING runs K&H at 3:05 and airs Mad Money on sister KONG at 3.
 
Maybe NBC should cut Today back and bring back game shows. But then the affiliates like WMC in Memphis that pre-empted a lot of the daytime schedule would probably start that again... ::)
 
Kathy and Hoda need a studio audience.......... and while your at it......... give the show more production dollars.......
 
Kathy and Hoda need a studio audience.......... and while your at it......... give the show more production dollars.......




Sorry for the double posting.....I love technology..........
 
Daytime TV is really in an upheaval.

Regis has left; Baba Wawa is leaving - the two most stable daytime talk shows aren't so stable any more.
Soaps are almost gone.
Only one network game show left.
Soaps and game shows used to be almost the entire daytime schedule - except for LOCAL talk shows in many markets.
Re-runs used to be a big part of network daytime schedules but not cable has those locked up.
Expanding the morning show franchise would seem like a sound move except it hasn't worked that well with Today.
Reality shows dominate the prime-time schedule. There are several court shows in syndication and one network game show. That's as close as daytime comes to reality TV, unless you want to count the trailer trash and body guards talk shows. Maybe somebody will figure a way to adapt reality shows to daytime.

My prediction: Matt leaves Today and gets a talk show. Today is back to two hours. For the time being, local stations do the 9am hour (probably using the same staff as their pre-Today morning shows). Syndicated shows 10-noon.
 
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