Hoda Kotb left “Today” after NBC proposed a pay cut

Hoda Kotb’s surprise announcement this week that she was resigning as anchor of NBC’s “Today” show was partly due to the network asking her to take a pay cut, Puck News reported Friday.

According to BockShe earned more than $20 million a year, which salary network executives told her couldn’t be justified anymore thanks to the changing streaming landscape.

“NBC executives loved Hoda and knew her value to the brand, but they also made it clear to her clients that such stratospheric contracts were no longer justified given the inexorable decline of the industry,” she said, in part because of the steep ratings decline that affected “Today.” And competitors like Bok said: “Good morning, America.”

In September 2014“Al-Youm” averaged 4.672 million viewers. But this month, the show was average 2.536 millionalthough it narrowly beat competitors on other networks.

NBC representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.

Kotb announced during Thursday’s episode of “Today” that she will step down and move to a different, as-yet-unspecified role at NBC in early 2025.

In a memo to staff, which Kotb also read on air, she said she made the decision in August after realizing that “it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and try something new.”

“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” Kotb continued. “I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful decision. And you’re all to blame. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I feel that deeply now. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”

Kotb spent 10 of her 26 years at NBC on “Dateline,” seven years at the 7 a.m. “Today” slot and 16 years at the 10 a.m. slot. She helped launch the fourth hour of the show alongside Kathie Lee Gifford and Jenna Bush Hager.