‘Today Show’ signs Savannah Guthrie for three more years

Let’s hope you enjoy watching Savannah Guthrie on “The Today Show.” After all, you are not going to be seeing her depart for a long time.

Today, it was confirmed that Guthrie has signed a new deal for at least three years with NBC News, and it includes a clause that she remain as a part of the morning show. This deal locks in both and co-anchor Matt Lauer firmly for at least a couple of years, though his deal is a little bit shorter than hers. Stability is important for any sort of morning / daytime TV franchise, and “Today” in particular is one that has been in desperate need of that in recent months. After all, the show has seen multiple behind-the-scenes changes, and this is without even going into the whole Ann Curry messed that happened on-camera.

What NBC is doing here ultimately is doubling down behind the people who they currently have on board the show, rather than trying to shake up their formula yet again in a desperate attempt to overthrow the current leaders over at “Good Morning America.” We feel like, at least for now, that this is the right move. Still, it is going to be hard for them to overtake “GMA” so long as Lauer is on board, given that public perception of him feels much more negative than any other morning talk-show host. At the same time, he is also very good at what he does from a journalistic standpoint. That is what makes this so complicated.

We will have some more announcements on “The Today Show” and all things morning TV as they come out.