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REPORT: Longtime NBC Host Planning To Leave Network

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2 days ago

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A leading name in NBC’s cast of news anchors is set to depart by the end of 2025, signaling that the era of mainstream media is fading fast as more and more established reporters head for the door — and greener, more lucrative pastures.

Coverage of the 2024 presidential campaign was defined, in part, by the intense focus on new media, especially by President-elect Donald Trump and his attention paid to podcasters and social media influencers who hold more significant sway over Americans than ever before. With their ascent, figures like Theo Von and Joe Rogan have essentially challenged networks like NBC or Fox News for the media mantle and left longtime anchors wondering whether they’re on the wrong side of a significant culture shift. Count among those figures Chuck Todd, the onetime face of NBC News and former host of “Meet the Press,” who Washington, D.C. sources say is examining a career that charts a new endeavor within the next year. Media insiders report witnessing Todd meet with other news organizations as he prepares for a post-NBC future. Todd “has told top editors and leaders from other media organizations that he plans to leave NBC when his contract is up this year, and has discussed potential roles outside the network both in broadcast and digital media,” according to Semafor.

Since joining NBC in 2007, Todd has risen to become the defining face of the network’s news division, helming its signature Sunday show from 2014 to 2023 and covering the machinations of President-elect Trump’s rise and fall over his first term. Although he stepped down in 2023, Todd, at just 52 years old, is far from the end of his career, and he has had plenty to say about his unhappiness with his current employer. He was among the top NBC figures to publicly speak out against the network’s decision to hire former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel after she resigned from her post that same year. The network reneged its contract with McDaniel — only to hire her later — but the spat left sources speculating about whether Todd was himself positioning for a split, Semafor added. Since leaving “Meet the Press,” Todd has been far less visible on NBC News’ programs and website, a change he has claimed is ostensibly geared toward his focus on long-form projects.

With the veteran reporter’s contract set to expire in 2025, the timing is ripe for a change, Todd has reportedly told those close to his decision-making process. A factor in the move may be the brutal decline that NBC News and MSNBC, its liberal subsidiary, have seen since the election. MSNBC, once the left’s cable news hub for Washington, has seen its primetime ratings slide by more than half since Trump’s second victory, putting pressure on the network to slash the salaries of highly paid talents like Rachel Maddow. Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, announced in November that it would be separating NBC News from MSNBC, forcing the left-leaning station to rely more on its own revenue stream.

As more veteran journalists launch their own media ventures, it’s becoming harder for folks like Todd to ignore the fact that their brands are often more powerful than those of their media overlords. Alisyn Camerota, host of CNN’s mid-afternoon “Newsroom” program since April of 2021, announced in November that she would be leaving the struggling network. So, too, did Neil Cavuto, who signed off from Fox News in December after 28 years. Also in November, Chris Wallace announced he was leaving CNN after just three years and plans to launch his own podcast. That’s “where the action seems to be,” Wallace said at the time.



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