Matt Lauer Offers Congratulations to His Successor Hoda Kotb

As BWW reported earlier today, Hoda Kotb has been named co-anchor of NBC News' TODAY joining Savannah Guthrie. The announcement was made by Andy Lack, Chairman, NBC News Group. The new anchor team debuted this morning.

E! News spoke to Kotb in between segments of TODAY this morning, where she shared that Lauer was among those who privately congratulated her on the promotion. "He was sweet this morning. Certain texts popped up, and there was one from Matt: 'Congratulations!'" said Kotb, who joined Today a decade ago. "And he said some nice words," she tells the site.

She adds, "It meant the world to me to hear from him," Kotb told E! NEWS Tuesday. "It was really nice."

Guthrie and Kotb will co-anchor the 7-9 a.m. hours of TODAY, along with weather anchor Al Roker and Orange Room host Carson Daly. Kotb will also continue co-hosting the 10 a.m. hour of TODAY with Kathie Lee Gifford.

Kotb joined NBC News in 1998 as a correspondent for "Dateline." She has been co-hosting the fourth hour of TODAY with Gifford since 2008. While at NBC News, Kotb has been honored with Emmy awards, a Gracie award and an Edward R. Murrow award. She is also the host of "The Hoda Show on SiriusXM." Kotb started her broadcast career in local news, anchoring and reporting for stations in New Orleans and Fort Myers.

Guthrie joined NBC News as a correspondent in 2007 and has been the co-anchor of TODAY since 2012. She also serves as the network's chief legal correspondent. Prior to joining TODAY, Guthrie was the NBC News White House correspondent for three years. She has received Emmy awards, a Gracie award and a Matrix award for her work at NBC News. Guthrie graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and began her career in journalism at local stations in Tucson and Washington, DC.

Source: E! News
Image: Screenshot courtesy of TODAY

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