Tamron Hall will leave her NBC News and MSNBC when her contract expires at the end of this month but has already made her last on-air appearance, the network announced on Wednesday.
TheWrap has learned that NBC executives informed Hall and the "Today" staff last week that the 9 a.m. hour was being canceled to make room for a new program led by NBC's pricey new hire, former Fox News host Megyn Kelly.
Hall's last day on air for the networks was Tuesday. Al Roker will continue to co-host "Today" during the 9 a.m. hour until a new morning lineup begins this fall that includes Kelly.
It's the latest turmoil for the 9 a.m. segment, which saw the high-profile departure of co-host Billy Bush last fall following the leak of his salacious open-mic conversation with Donald Trump while he was host of "Access Hollywood." Hall had stepped in to replace him.
"The last 10 years have been beyond anything I could have imagined, and I'm grateful," Hall said in a statement. "I'm also very excited about the next chapter. To all my great colleagues, I will miss you and I will be rooting for you."
"Tamron is an exceptional journalist, we valued and enjoyed her work at 'Today' and MSNBC and hoped that she would decide to stay," the network added. "We are disappointed that she has chosen to leave, but we wish her all the best."
Hall joined MSNBC and NBC in 2007, landing on the "Today" show in 2014. She earned an Edward R. Murrow Award for a story that aired on NBC News, and an Emmy in 2010 as a member of NBC News' live inauguration coverage.
It has been widely speculated that Roker and Hall were being pushed out to make room for Kelly, who recently left Fox News to join NBC.
6 Times NBC's 'Today' Host Drama Made Headlines, From Jane Pauley to Tamron Hall (Photos)
"Today" host Tamron Hall announced on Wednesday that she'll be leaving NBC and MSNBC following the cancellation of her hour of the daytime talk show to make room for the incoming Megyn Kelly. NBC was met with harsh backlash from viewers, but it's hardly the first time the morning show has been embroiled in controversy.
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Jane Pauley Pauley served as co-host of "Today" for more than a decade alongside Tom Brokaw and Bryant Gumbel. But in 1989, Pauley announced she'd be leaving the show and Deborah Norville would be taking her place. The move was widely interpreted as "Today" replacing its female host with a younger woman, prompting swift criticism from viewers and the media.
Ann Curry Curry was brought on to replace the departing Meredith Vieira in 2011, and was ousted less than a year later for Savannah Guthrie in a move that became a huge embarrassment for "Today." Curry spent her final appearance on the show openly weeping. The well-liked anchor was reportedly driven out in a campaign orchestrated her co-host Matt Lauer and the show's producers.
Natalie Morales Morales stepped down as "Today" anchor in May 2016, jumping ship for a role on "Access Hollywood." The move was followed by reports that Morales was being ousted due to an affair-gone-awry with Lauer, but both parties swiftly came out and denied the allegations.
Billy Bush During the 2016 Rio Olympics, U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte claimed he'd been robbed at gunpoint in an friendly interview with "Today's" Billy Bush. His story was soon revealed to be a lie by Rio police and security camera footage, causing some embarrassment for the show. Bush's continued defense of Lochte then led to a heated exchange with co-host Al Roker later in the week.
Billy Bush (again) Just a few months later in October 2016, at the peak of the presidential election, Bush was at the center of yet another scandal. This time it involved newly uncovered tapes from Bush's tenure at "Access Hollywood." After the audio surfaced of Bush egging on Donald Trump as he bragged about sexually assaulting women, the host was promptly suspended, then dismissed, from "Today."
Tamron Hall After the news that Megyn Kelly would be leaving Fox News to take on her own daytime show at NBC, Hall was informed by the network that the 9 a.m. hour of "Today" that she co-hosted with Al Roker would be canceled. Hall subsequently announced her plans to leave NBC in February 2017, inciting swift criticism of the network from her fans.
The venerable morning show has been a lightning rod ever since Pauley was abruptly replaced by Deborah Norville
"Today" host Tamron Hall announced on Wednesday that she'll be leaving NBC and MSNBC following the cancellation of her hour of the daytime talk show to make room for the incoming Megyn Kelly. NBC was met with harsh backlash from viewers, but it's hardly the first time the morning show has been embroiled in controversy.
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