As you may have heard, Megyn Kelly did not have a great week last week.
Her peppy, mostly apolitical morning show, Megyn Kelly Today, premiered to less than rave reviews and featured more than a few awkward moments.
Thus far, the show has served to strengthen the argument that NBC made a costly mistake in courting the former Fox News anchor.
Reports that execs are desperate to fire Kelly have been circulating but new revelations about just how much the network is paying the 46-year-old lead us to believe they’ll likely ride it out in hopes of seeing some return on their investment.
According to a new report from Radar Online, NBC has agreed to pay Kelly an astonishing $ 69 million over the next three years.
Yes, that awkward maorning show that’s become Twitter’s favorite punchline is earning Kelly $ 23 million a year.
For reference, NBC pays Jimmy Fallon just over $ 15 million annually.
Matt Lauer is paid more than Megyn, with a salary of $ 25 million, but he’s been with the network for 23 years!
“How on earth can they justify paying her $ 69m for three years?” said one irate insider in an interview with Radar.
“The network that created Barbara Walters, Tom Brokaw and Matt Lauer will now forever be remembered for the $ 69m hire of Megyn Kelly,” opined another.
What’s truly baffling about the staggering sum Kelly is being paid is that NBC had to know her contract amounted to a tremendous gamble on their part.
Though more moderate than some of her colleagues, Kelly still made a name for herself as a rightwing firebrand at Fox News.
NBC shelled out for a kinder, gentler Kelly, which baffled many within the industry.
Why pay her so much to not do what she’s best known for?
It’s the journalistic equivalent of signing Tom Brady for eight figures and having him play wide receiver.
On top of the confusing attempt at rebranding, the network assumed the risk that left leaning viewers would reject Kelly as a result of the controversial views she espoused in the past.
And indeed, to seems to be what’s taking place.
Numbers for Kelly’s second week aren’t in yet, but her ratings declined steadily during her first week on the air.
Of course, that could have less to do with the fact that she once argued Santa Claus is white in an unhinged on-air tirade, and more to do with the fact that her show is simply not good.
