14 DAY TRIAL // He’s interviewed some of the biggest celebrities and he has a reputation that will certainly help him move on to bigger and better projects, but fans still see this as the end of an era: Matt Lauer may be leaving The Today Show when his contract is up, it has emerged.
Short on the heels of a report saying that co-host Meredith Vieira will be leaving the show at the end of this year, comes a fresh report saying that Lauer may follow suit in 2012, when his contract is also up.
Admittedly, he’s already announced NBC bosses that he will not be taking part in negotiations to renew the contract once it’s up, PopEater says, citing ongoing reports.
“According to Entertainment Tonight, Lauer will leave the top-rated daytime show when his contract is up. However, don’t panic just yet – Lauer’s under contract until Dec. 31, 2012,” the e-zine says.
As major US publications are already speculating on where Lauer could possibly go next, NBC is keeping mum on his reported imminent departure, releasing solely a statement saying that, for the time being, he’s staying with the network.
Which is not really saying a lot, celebrity magazines and bloggers point out.
“There seems to be an awful lot of speculation around news anchors these days, and it’s not our practice to comment on any of it. Matt Lauer has a long-term contract with NBC News and ‘Today’,” reads the statement from the network.
Since neither Lauer’s nor Vieira’s departures are yet a sure thing, the official line is that they’re going nowhere for the time being, as a statement from Today also seems to hint.
“The ‘Today’ show anchors are currently under contract and firmly in place,” it reads.
However, as word online has it, NBC seems on its way to be shaken up by departures it most likely didn’t see coming, including those of Lauer and Vieira.