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Confirmed on air look released today.

today-first-take.png?w=800

It looks good, I think they got the design from msnbc which has used it since they went HD in 2009.

 

I don't know why they don't use unified graphics throughout their network and cable channels - it would make it a lot easier for sharing content between NBC, MSNBC and CNBC where you wouldn't have to create unique graphics for each channel. All of the BBCs output is the same between their BBC Breakfast and BBC News on BBC One with BBC News Channel and BBC World.

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It looks good, I think they got the design from msnbc which has used it since they went HD in 2009.

 

I don't know why they don't use unified graphics throughout their network and cable channels - it would make it a lot easier for sharing content between NBC, MSNBC and CNBC where you wouldn't have to create unique graphics for each channel. All of the BBCs output is the same between their BBC Breakfast and BBC News on BBC One with BBC News Channel and BBC World.

 

Eh. It's been five years now. MSNBC could stand an refresh/overhaul of their graphics. But if I were to place priorities, it would definitely be on CNBC (they still aren't in HD right)?

 

But that's not the discussion here...

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Eh. It's been five years now. MSNBC could stand an refresh/overhaul of their graphics. But if I were to place priorities' date=' it would definitely be on CNBC (they [b']still[/b] aren't in HD right)?

 

But that's not the discussion here...

Yes the only CNBC programming that airs in HD occurs during their CNBC Prime lineup but during the day part it's still 4:3 with a HD graphical sidebar.

 

But what I was getting at is if they did get new graphics which is kind of what was being implied here earlier it would be good if they could standardize it throughout all of NBC News' divisions.

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Yes the only CNBC programming that airs in HD occurs during their CNBC Prime lineup but during the day part it's still 4:3 with a HD graphical sidebar.

 

But what I was getting at is if they did get new graphics which is kind of what was being implied here earlier it would be good if they could standardize it throughout all of NBC News' divisions.

 

IIRC, the dayside stuff is HD (it certainly looks a lot crisper on an HD now screen than it did when they first launched), it's just that they decided to keep the L bar instead of having a lot of unused space on the edges of the screen like a lot of news operations that haven't gone to letterboxing their HD feed do.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This morning, Al Roker and Sam Champion did the weather together. Al did the first part and Sam the second part. Both of them standing on each side of the big map. That was weird. I never saw two weather guys doing one weather report together.

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  • 3 weeks later...

NBC was in a tough position here. There is not definitive heir just yet and, if Matt wanted to stay, they would risk having to force out another anchor which would obviously not play well in public.

 

They made a smart decision. Sign him for a few more years, develop a bench with a few possible successors, and just keep trying to get back on top.

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I still think they should add Tamron Hall to co anchor with Matt, but that's my opinion. I like Savannah but the ratings for Today are sad to say the least.

 

The Today show lacks something that GMA has & its working for ABC.

 

Add Sam Champion to the weather & NBC might have a winning combination.

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NBC was in a tough position here. There is not definitive heir just yet and, if Matt wanted to stay, they would risk having to force out another anchor which would obviously not play well in public.

 

They made a smart decision. Sign him for a few more years, develop a bench with a few possible successors, and just keep trying to get back on top.

 

It's pretty obvious that the most obvious heir, as of this moment, to Matt is Willie Geist. He is the ONLY person people talk about as being a Matt Lauer replacement. The article says that his new contract "will take Mr. Lauer to two decades as the program's chief anchor." Presumably one could speculate that after that milestone is reached, Lauer will leave. Either way, NBC needs to spend the entire length of his new contract prepping up an heir and Willie Geist is the most obvious choice at least at this moment. If it's not him then it'll have to be someone else they bring in and work hard to be likable to the viewers, but Geist is already well received by Today Show viewers.

 

The network has also promoted the show’s recent ratings, which have brought “Today” closer to “G.M.A.” among viewers between the ages of 25 and 54, or those that are sold to advertisers on morning news. While “G.M.A.” still commands a sizable lead among total viewers, the gap among those salable viewers has narrowed in some recent weeks. Two weeks ago, “Today” closed the gap to 88,000 viewers, though ABC increased that to 184,000 this past week. “G.M.A.” wins among total audience by between 800,000 and one million viewers.

 

Which is stupid because this happens just about every week. CBSTM probably narrows the gap between them and Today on a weekly basis too, but do you see them citing it as an indication that their ratings are rising and that they will soon be the new #2? No, because they know it was just some random fluctuation. NBC can start claiming that the gap is really narrowing once the gap is down to under 100,000 for consistent weeks on end.

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I still think they should add Tamron Hall to co anchor with Matt, but that's my opinion. I like Savannah but the ratings for Today are sad to say the least.

 

The Today show lacks something that GMA has & its working for ABC.

 

Add Sam Champion to the weather & NBC might have a winning combination.

 

What they're lacking is that sense of fun, unity and family.

 

Add Sam Champion? And do what with Al Roker?

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Why do people continue to speculate that adding Sam Champion or Josh Elliott to any program will resonate with viewers? Yeah people love their bromance but keep in mind they were only 2/5 pieces to a group of host. Similar to my opinion of the people who suggest putting Erica Hill at the forefront of the show, what ratings success has she had to merit the position?

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Why do people continue to speculate that adding Sam Champion or Josh Elliott to any program will resonate with viewers? Yeah people love their bromance but keep in mind they were only 2/5 pieces to a group of host.

 

Plus, GMA hasn't seen any ratings dip without them so, it wasn't them alone that made the program.
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The decision was a reflection of the silent majority of Today viewers who still love Matt. As one article put it, most of the people who felt Matt was to blame for the botched Curry ouster have already left to GMA or CBS.

 

Even though Today is #2, it is still very profitable for NBC and axing Matt would surely cause chaos that would risk disrupting that profitability.

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  • 1 month later...

We'll know soon enough who Matt's successor is when Willie Geist's contract is up. There's no way he signs unless he's guaranteed the seat next to Savannah.

 

If NBC decides to not give him the seat, Geist could just as easily jump to CBS and continue his dad's legacy on that network. Geist could help jumpstart CBS' new 24-hour network, become a "60 Minutes" and/or CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, sub in on the Evening News and even serve as Charlie Rose's heir on CTM which Chris Licht (former Morning Joe producer) produces. Darkhouse? "The View" on ABC which Bill Wolfe is producing now.

 

Carson Daly has a radio empire and "The Voice" and I doubt he'll leave that for Matt's seat although I wouldn't be surprised to see him quit "Last Call" soon. Josh Elliott wasn't lying when he said he came to NBC to join their sports department. He's doing features for SNF and will be Bob Costas' heir to the Olympics throne (hosting the Youth Olympics on NBCSN).

 

The only legitimate replacement I see for Matt outside of Willie Geist is a big celebrity who doesn't have news chops but can bring up ratings. But that would go against the strategy "Today" has been using as of late, going newsy at 7 a.m. up to 8 a.m. (unless Savannah anchored solo throughout the 7 a.m. hour but that wouldn't make sense either). And to be honest, I can't think of who that celebrity would be.

 

Another thing they could do is make Al Roker co-anchor but let Natalie and Savannah handle hard news interviews while Roker sticks to reading transitions to news stories, trendy newsmaker interviews (for example the mother who just delivered 20 babies etc.), and the weather of course. But that too would be weird.

 

Maybe they move Natalie up to co-anchor? I don't think that would work though because Natalie and Savannah don't really have a sisterly bond like say Hoda/Kathie Lee or Diane and Robin. The only same gender co-anchors I could see working out are Hoda and Savannah but who knows if Hoda has any interest in waking up earlier or if she would be willing to host both the 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. hours or if she could be taken seriously because of how much fun she has during the 10 a.m. hour. Unlike Natalie and Ann Curry, Hoda Kotb can adapt to any situation on television which she's in.

 

So basically to make a long story short, bottomline is that's Willie Geist's seat.

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