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Today gets a fourth hour
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NBC’s massively successful moneymaker “Today” is adding a fourth hour this September at 10 a.m. It would be focused on entertainment and lifestyle. NBC News president Steve Capus wouldn’t say who would be the hosts. USA Today surmised that regulars Natalie Morales and Campbell Brown are expected to have roles, along with ex-Giants running back Tiki Barber. It’s unclear how much Matt Lauer, Ann Curry or Al Roker will do in the fourth hour.
Meredith Vieira, because of her hosting of “Who Wants to Be a Milliionaire,” already is not allowed to be on “Today” after 9 a.m. EST so she certainly won’t be on the fourth hour.
WXIA general manager Bob Walker said Wednesday that he just found out the day before and wasn’t sure yet what this means for its current 10 a.m. occupant “The Martha Stewart Show” or its local TV show at 11 a.m. “Atlanta & Company,” with hosts Holly Firfer and Ryan Cameron.
“We’re going to have to explore our options and see how it impacts Martha Stewart and our own show,” he said. WXIA recently gave Stewart a green light for a third season but there’s no word yet on the future of “Atlanta & Company.”
In 2000, “Today” added a third hour, which has done well, but ratings do drop off sharply after 9 a.m. when a bulk of people leave for work. Lauer, in a “TV Week” magazine interview, said he had “mixed emotions” about the move and might dilute the very lucrative brand.
Locally, “Martha” came in third among households this past November. The competition at 10 a.m., if the other networks don’t switch shows come fall, include typically top-rated “The Montell Williams Show” on WSB-TV, a double dose of “Judge Hatchett” on WAGA-TV (ranked No. 2 this past November), “The People’s Court” on WGCL-TV (ranked fifth) and “Jerry Springer” on MyNetworkTV (ranked fourth).
The soap “Passions” in the meantime will be snuffed out by the fall. This leaves NBC with only one soap on its lineup, “Days of Our Lives.” Locally in November, “Passions” came in third behind “One Life to Live” on WSB-TV and “As the World Turns” on WGCL-TV but ahead of other competitors such as Christina’s Court, Steve Harvey and Greg Behrendt.
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