Kati Couric is 'Today' Replacement for Savannah Guthrie?

By Daniel Distant, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Katie Couric's "Today" return could happen because current host Savannah Guthrie is five months pregnant and getting ready to take her maternity leave from the NBC morning program. Couric previously co-anchored "Today" from 1991 to 2006, and some are speculating that the longtime journalist could permanently replace Guthrie.

Katie Couric's "Today" co-hosting position would work out with her current obligations: she works for ABC and Yahoo! but her exclusivity contract with ABC is up this summer, TMZ reported. Still, nothing has been finalized by the "Today" show or network executives with the popular anchor.

There were "no formal negotiations of any sort," a source told TheWrap. "The reality is that it is primarily internal discussions, and it's unclear whether Katie will want to do this and be available to guest co-host and whether she would be in NBC's plans."

Others are also reportedly in talks to possibly take over for Guthrie, who announced her pregnancy recently. Natalie Morales and Meredith Vieira's names have come up so far, and because Vieira previously had the job before Ann Curry's ouster, she is being mentioned as a definite possibility.

However, Couric could beat out the other options because of her relationships with the current cast of "Today." In addition, she could bring higher ratings to the show, which has lost ground to "Good Morning America" recently. That could lead to Guthrie losing her position entirely.

"This is just natural speculation because of Katie's strong relationship with the folks at Today — including Matt [and] Al," the insider told TheWrap. The New York Post also reported that Couric and Guthrie have grown close and "have had lunch in the past eight weeks."

The official response has shed little light on the situation.

"With the Today show in a good place, we are blessed with great talent and many options to temporarily fill Savannah's chair while she's on leave, but there's no plan yet," an NBC representative told Deadline.