Hoda Kotb Replaces Matt Lauer as ‘Today’ Show Co-Anchor

After weeks of topping TV ratings with Hoda Kotb as Today co-host, Guthrie has been tapped to replace Matt Lauer on the Today show as the morning show’s lead co-anchor.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by NBC News Chairman Andy Lack, chairman. The new anchor team debuted Tuesday morning.

Co-anchor Savannah Guthrie made the announcement on the show, with the show’s Twitter feed saying: “@HodaKotb will be co-anchor of Today. #SavannahHodaTODAY”

Guthrie and Kotb will co-anchor the 7-9 a.m. hours of Today, along with weather anchor Al Roker and Orange Room host Carson Daly. Kotb will also continue co-hosting the 10 a.m. hour of Today with Kathie Lee Gifford.

Part of the NBC team since 1998 (she started as a correspondent for Dateline), Kotb has been co-hosting the fourth hour of TODAY with Gifford since 2008. Over the years with NBC News, she has earned Emmy awards, a Gracie award and an Edward R. Murrow award.

She is also the host of “The Hoda Show on SiriusXM.” Kotb started her broadcast career in local news, anchoring and reporting for stations in New Orleans and Fort Myers.

Kotb’s co-host, Guthrie, joined NBC News as a correspondent in 2007 and has been the co-anchor of Today since 2012. She also serves as the network’s chief legal correspondent. Prior to joining Today, Guthrie was the NBC News White House correspondent for three years.

Guthrie sat next to Matt Lauer as co-anchors for years before Lauer was fired from his longtime position in November for “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace” after a female colleague filed a detailed complaint against him.

Since his firing, multiple women have come forward alleging sexual misconduct of Lauer.

The disgraced Today show anchor has since kept a low profile, staying out of the city at his home in the Hamptons with his three children and estranged wife, Annette Roque.

An all-female anchor panel may be what women have wanted from the morning show all along; Refinery29 spoke with female fans of Today in December and discovered that an overwhelmingly amount of viewers didn’t enjoy Lauer’s presence all that much.

Liesel Burks, a 26-year-old attorney, said, “Frankly, I’m not surprised at all that the TODAY Show ratings have improved, because I always thought [Lauer] was the weakest host. TODAY Show‘s greatest strength has been the high-caliber female journalists that the show has promoted over the years, and I wish they had been able to shine more.”