Al Roker Bids Emotional Farewell to Tamron Hall

Well, that escalated quickly.

And, based on what we"ve been hearing via the rumor mill, it also escalated in rather bitter fashion.

Just a few weeks ago, Megyn Kelly left Fox News and joined NBC.

Both the journalist and network executives then confirmed that Kelly would be hosting some kind of five-days-a-week series for her new home… and that it would air each morning, disrupting the four-hour block of Today Show programming that has been in place for yeas.

Whether Kelly"s show airs at 9am or 10am, it became public knowledge that Tamron Hall and Al Roker would no longer anchor their very own hour.

Therefore, in response, Hall chose not to sign a new contract with NBC.

"The last 10 years have been beyond anything I could have imagined, and I"m grateful. I"m also very excited about the next chapter," Hall said via statement, adding:

"To all my great colleagues, I will miss you and I will be rooting for you."

With Hall already gone from Today, Roker took a few moments this morning to address the awkward and unfortunate turn of events.

"As some of you may have heard by now, our good friend Tamron Hall has decided to leave NBC News," said the veteran weatherman.

"Personally, Tamron has been not just a cohost on Today for the past three years, but a good friend – and to not just me, but to all of us here.

"We want to wish her nothing but the best, much continued success, and we cannot wait to see what her next chapter is."

Watch Roker"s full message in support of Hall below:

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Megyn Kelly to Bump Al Roker and Tamron Hall from Today Show

Contrary to previous reports, Days of Our Lives will not be canceled in the wake of Megyn Kelly signing with NBC earlier this year.

There had been talk that Kelly’s upcoming talk show would take over that beloved soap opera’s timeslot, making the reporter an enemy of millions of viewers before she even started.

But Days of Our Lives appears to be safe.

The same cannot be said, however, for the future of Al Roker and Tamron Hall as Today Show anchors.

According to a pair of reliable sources (People Magazine and USA Today), Kelly will host a five-days-a-week program that will air on NBC at either 9 a.m. ET/PT or 10 a.m. ET/PT.

If it lands in the former time period, then the series will bridge the gap between the first two hours of Today and Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford getting drunk on wine at 10.

If it lands in the latter time period, then Hoda and Kathie Lee will move up an hour every day.

In either scenario, however, Al Roker and Tamron Hall are out of luck.

They will no longer host their own 60 minutes of the long-running morning program.

And the timing of this announcement is ironic, considering Roker just took to Twitter yesterday to tout the 9 am block’s ratings momentum.

Roker, who has been Today‘s weather and feature anchor since January 1996, will continue his 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. duties along with Hall.

NBC has not commented on these programming rumors.

Kelly, meanwhile, will join NBC News in some capacity this May, while her daily show will commence in the fall.

She reportedly turned down an offer of $ 20 million per year from Fox to make this major move, which wasn’t shocking since Kelly opened up last year about past instances of sexual harassment at the hands of former Fox Corp. Chairman Roger Ailes.

“Over a dozen years ago I started at Fox News in a job that would change my life,” Kelly wrote upon confirming her departure.

“Now, I have decided to end my time at FNC, incredibly enriched for the experiences I’ve had. I have agreed to join NBC News, where I will be launching a new daytime show Monday through Friday, along with a Sunday evening news magazine program.

“I will also participate in NBC’s breaking news coverage and its political and special events coverage.”

Kelly, who was also looking to shift from nighttime work to daytime work in order to spend more time with her family, concluded as follows:

While I will greatly miss my colleagues at Fox, I am delighted to be joining the NBC News family and taking on a new challenge.

I remain deeply grateful to Fox News, to Rupert, Lachlan and James Murdoch, and especially to all of the FNC viewers, who have taught me so much about what really matters.

More to come soon. … Happy New Year, and God bless.

In Kelly’s place, Tucker Carlson now anchors a show every night on Fox News; and he has thus far doubled the ratings of The Kelly File.

Here’s a look at how Kelly signed off for the final time on Fox:

Megyn Kelly Bids Farewell to Fox News Viewers

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