Craig Melvin to Replace Hoda Kotb as ‘Today’ Co-Anchor

Brian Steinberg
·2-min read

Craig Melvin will help lead NBC’s “Today” into tomorrow.

The NBC News stalwart, who has in recent years anchored and co-anchored hours on MSNBC and various parts of the venerable morning franchise, will step up to co-host the flagship 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. hours of “Today,” alongside Savannah Guthrie. Melvin will replace Hoda Kotb, who revealed in September that she intended to step away from full-time duties at the program.

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Melvin has long been seen as a potential aspirant to the co-anchor role. He was given more prominent duties on “Today” in 2018, and has been co-anchoring the show’s 9 a.m. hour, His ascension will be relatively seamless for viewers. Kotb’s last official day at the show will be Friday, January 10, she announced on the program Thursday.

NBC News will not announce a fill-in for Kotb’s other role, co-anchoring the 10 a.m. hour, which she does with Jenna Bush Hager and which is focused more on lifestyle topics. The NBCUniversal unit is expected to rely on a rotating series of co-hosts and will for the time being retitle the hour “Today with Jenna and Friends” until a permanent decision is made on talent. Hager is expected to work with a series of interesting guests, which could include both faces familiar to the program’s audience as well as celebrity surprises.

Melvin has worked with and for NBC for years. One of his first jobs was at WIS, an NBC affiliate in Columbia, South Carolina, where he initially worked in a post while he attended high school. He would return there after college to work as a producer and anchor. In 2008, Melvin joined WRC, NBC’s Washington, D.C. station, where he started anchoring weekend newscasts.

More to come…

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