Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly, originally billed as a weekly show, is returning to air on a periodic basis. The host’s time at NBC has been a disappointment to the network, she’s not pulling the ratings that executives expected.
Last month NBC decided to keep her at home rather than fly her out to cover the Olympics. It would have been a perfect spot for her to market her new, softer image but she didn’t get the chance.
“It is odd that NBC News would leave its highest-paid host at home,” The Hill media columnist Joe Concha said.
“Megyn’s ratings are improving a bit as the show has focused on the sexual harassment issue, but she could still use the kind of exposure and interviews you only get when physically at the Olympics.”
NBC executives don’t quite know what to do. Hiring Kelly is turning out to be a very expensive mistake. She agreed to a $23 million a year a salary, a sum that would be reasonable if she was able to translate her massive success on Fox News into more viewers from NBC.
However, she’s not. Her “weekly” show was downgraded to an occasional one because people aren’t really interested in watching her.
“She is hated inside the Today Show and is seen as tarnishing the brand, out-of-control and selfish,” an anonymous source revealed. “The general feeling is that she will not last three years.”
A few weeks a group of staffers working on Kelly’s show revealed that she was a nightmare, lying boss who often made them cry. She’s not the only tough boss in media, but it’s striking that she hasn’t managed to inspire her staffers with any loyalty.
Kelly’s tenure at NBC may be short. Rumors are already swirling that she’ll be canned soon.
(Source: Daily Mail)