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NBC's $69 million bet on Megyn Kelly is turning into a disaster (CMCSA)

Megyn Kelly came from Fox to NBC for $69 million over three years. Her ratings on the "Today" show continue to be lower than expected.

  • "Megyn Kelly Today" averages about 2.4 million viewers. "Live With Kelly and Ryan" reaches an audience of 3 million in the same time slot on ABC.
  • Tamron Hall and Al Roker, the hosts who previously had her time slot,
  • made less than half of Kelly's salary with higher ratings.

NBC poached Megyn Kelly from Fox with a three-year contract for $69 million, but her ratings are not consistent with what is expected from that level of network investment.

"Megyn Kelly Today" premiered in September 2017 but has yet to find its audience for its 9 a.m. weekday slot.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Nielsen data shows Kelly averages 2.4 million viewers a day.

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During Kelly's last year at Fox News, "The Kelly File" averaged 2.7 million viewers despite being on a cable network. Kelly was in prime time and now airs in mornings, but her viewership dropped as she made the transfer from cable to network television.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the audience for "Megyn Kelly Today" is 18% smaller than the audience for NBC's previous hosts in her spot, Tamron Hall and Al Roker, and

Kelly made a major jump from cable to network news by leaving Fox for NBC. Stephen Colbert — who is now making $15 million — made a comparable cable-to-network move from Comedy Central to CBS for "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert." His ratings initially suffered, but the critical reception and viewership of Colbert's late-night talk show have improved.

"Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly" finished its first season earlier than anticipated among low ratings. The first episode featured an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and The Journal reported that NBC was surprised the premiere only took in 6 million viewers.

NBC has said that the weekly news show that aired eight episodes last summer will now run "periodically."

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For her part, Kelly has said she is willing to give her program some time to find an audience. "Our show is a baby. We're six months old," Kelly said in a statement.

"Morning TV is obviously new to me and I'm figuring it out as we go ... I think any show needs about a year to find its footing," she said.

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