(Photo: Reuters/Brendan McDermid)''Today'' show hosts Ann Curry and Matt Lauer appear on set during the show in New York June 22, 2012. NBC executives are in talks with Curry about moving her to one of the network's news programs, only a year after she succeeded Meredith Viera at the morning show.Rumors have been swirling that Matt Lauer may soon be leaving NBC. Even though it's not the first time these rumors have existed, Lauer's performance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has led to calls for him to be let go from NBC.
NBC has had trouble keeping Lauer as host of the "Today" show, with negotiations coming down to the wire for the high-priced host. And NBC executives caused a scandal when they dropped Ann Curry from the show and replaced her with Savannah Guthrie.
Since then, the show's ratings have dropped, which many blame on the poor chemistry between Lauer and Guthrie. Fans were outraged at the loss of Curry, and NBC has not been able to recover from that loss. Today Lauer and Guthrie hosted the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is an annual event aired on NBC.
People have reacted to Lauer's hosting performance rather harshly, criticizing him for mispronouncing the name of a song by the Gershwin brothers to his "bland presence." Fans have called for him to quit while he is (barely) ahead and leave NBC for good.
"Thanks Matt Lauer for reporting that the world is safe this turkey day thanks to the Power Rangers," tweeted Osmonic1, who referred to the following comment made by Lauer.
"Thanks to the Power Rangers MegaForce, the Earth is in very safe hands this Turkey Day," he said during the parade.
"My Question for the Day: How the heck did Matt Lauer get on television and why is he still there?" questioned BoneSaw.
Lauer replaced Bryant Gumbel as host of "Today" in 1997, working with Katie Couric on the popular morning show. Couric recently left the series to further her own career and moved on to CBS, while Lauer chose to stay with the series but demanded an increase in salary.
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