Craig Melvin, the NBC News veteran long seen as a possible co-anchor for “Today,” will step up for the outgoing Hoda Kotb, who announced her departure in September.
The appointment was announced Thursday morning on the “Today” broadcast. Kotb will step down on Jan. 10 after 26 years on the program. Melvin will co-anchor the 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. hours, joining Savannah Guthrie.
Melvin has been a “Today” news anchor since 2018, and has co-hosted the show’s third hour since 2019. He had also anchored a daily MSNBC show, but quit in 2022 to focus on his “Today” duties.
NBC said it will not choose a fill-in for Kotb’s 10 a.m. hour role, co-anchored with Jenna Bush Hager. Instead, it will use a rotating series of co-hosts for the newly retitled “Today With Jenna and Friends.”
Kotb, meanwhile, said she would remain in some role at NBC, but did not specify what that would be.
“Happily and gratefully, I plan to remain a part of the NBC family, the longest work relationship I’ve been lucky enough to hold close to my heart,” she wrote at the time. “I’ll be around. How could I not? Family is family and you all will always be a part of mine.”
