Megyn Kelly is ready to get back on TV. Page Six has exclusively learned that Kelly will officially start at NBC next month.
“She will start in May, and her Sunday show will premiere in June,” a network insider told us. Kelly had been expected to start in July after her Fox contract expired, but she was just released from her Fox deal two weeks ago.
She will join Kate Snow as part of NBC News’ Sunday night programming.
NBC News vet and former “Dateline” executive producer David Corvo will executive produce Kelly’s Sunday show with another longtime NBC producer, Elizabeth Cole. NBC News chairman Andy Lack flew to Russia earlier this month to meet with Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, sparking buzz that a Putin interview may launch Kelly’s show.
But the former Fox News star’s upcoming weekday morning program remains in shambles. We’re told NBC is still scrambling to find a staff and executive producer for the weekday morning show, which will debut in the fall.
“It’s a very real problem. There’s no staff in place. They have no idea what they’re going to do with Megyn. Ideas range from talk show to studio audience to news show. It’s a problem,” another source said. Kelly’s rep didn’t comment.
However, another NBC insider insists, “Megyn’s morning show is almost entirely staffed — and it doesn’t air for another five months. They just haven’t announced anybody.”
Meanwhile, “Today” is in a panic because “CBS This Morning” is catching up to them in the ratings after rival “Good Morning America” tripled its lead over the show last month. “They’re close to falling into third place. CBS has never been this close to ‘Today’ in the entirety of the show. ‘Today’ is panicking, and there’s a lot of infighting because NBC is starting to lose in the mornings and evenings. ‘Today’ has even launched a new promo campaign, which focuses on the newsy side to try to compete,” a source said.
“‘Today’ is the No. 1 morning show in viewers 25 to 54, the demographic that brings in the ad revenue, and its competitive advantages have reached five-year highs,” an NBC exec insisted.