NBC is expected to launch a new Sunday newsmagazine program anchored by Megyn Kelly in June, according to a person familiar with the situation, a move that begins to firm up the former Fox News star’s role with her new employer.
The new program is expected to feature Kelly as the lead of an ensemble of reporters, and will be supervised by two veteran NBC News producers who also lead the network’s venerable “Dateline.” David Corvo and Liz Cole have been the team overseeing that popular newsmagazine since 2011. Kate Snow, who anchors NBC’s Sunday-night broadcast of “NBC Nightly News” and who recently stepped down from anchoring an hour at MSNBC, is expected to contribute to the new program.
NBC News declined to make executives available to comment. Page Six previously reported details of Kelly’s new program.
Kelly was formally freed from her contract with Fox News Channel earlier this month, accelerating the timeline under which she could start doing work for NBC News. Kelly agreed to a contract said to be worth around $18 million a year with NBC that will give her roles leading the Sunday newsmagazine as well as a daytime hour expected to be part of the time NBC already devotes to its “Today” franchise. NBC has yet to announce if the new Kelly program will be branded as part of “Today,” which typically airs between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. The network is expected to air Kelly’s new morning show at either 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. Other details have not been made public.
Before she cracks the network’s morning routine, however, Kelly will try her hand on Sundays. The June launch will allow NBC News to test the concept at a time of year when viewership tends to recede while audiences look to summer vacations and other activities. NBC News has rolled out new newsmagazine concepts twice in recent years. “Rock Center,” which aired in primetime in 2011 and 2012, was designed to be a more serious counterpart to the true-crime narratives upon which so much of “Dateline” is built. NBC tested six episodes of a “Dateline” offshoot, “On Assignment,” in 2016. The series played up stories of adventure and innovation.
Kelly’s debut on NBC is getting more attention than an anchor might typically expect. But she is coming to the Comcast-owned TV unit after one of the most eyebrow-raising tenures in the modern TV-news business. Over the past several years, Kelly has rocketed from anchoring an afternoon program on Fox News to leading a well-watched primetime show. Along the way, she has tangled with President Donald Trump while he campaigned for the office, played a behind-the-scenes role in the recent Fox News controversy that resulted in the ouster of former chief Roger Ailes, and launched a best-selling book.
[“Source-variety”]