Alexandra Wallace to Replace Jim Bell Atop ‘Today’ (Report)

NBC News exec Alexandra Wallace reportedly will take over "Today" from Jim Bell, who will serve as executive producer of NBC's Olympics coverage

NBC plans to replace the executive in charge of the "Today" show after seven years, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

MSNBCAlexandra Wallace, a senior vice president at NBC News, will replace Jim Bell, who has led the show since 2005, an unnamed person at the network told the Times.

Bell will now serve as executive producer of NBC's Olympics coverage, a job he took during this summer's coverage of the London Olympics, an unnamed source at NBC News told the Associated Press.

NBC did not immediately respond to repeated calls from TheWrap.

Bell was blamed for Curry's messy firing from her hosting duties after just a year in the slot. She was replaced by Savannah Guthrie in June.

Following Curry's exit, the profitable show dropped into second place after 16 consecutive years as No. 1.

ABC's "Good Morning America" swept into first place for a few weeks in April and May.

The result of the shakeup will be historic. Wallace will be the first woman ever put in charge of the "Today" show. "GMA" has had a female executive producer twice, the Times reported, and "Today" briefly had a woman in charge of morning programming.

Women make up the majority of both morning shows' audiences. "Today" nets about 65 percent women in its audience, "GMA" about 70 percent.

Comments