Craig Melvin Named as Hoda Kotb’s Replacement on ‘Today’

It’s official… Craig Melvin is replacing the departing Hoda Kotb as the new anchor of NBC Today and will co-host the morning show alongside Savannah Guthrie.

The announcement was made on the Thursday morning (November 14) broadcast, where it was confirmed Kotb’s final episode will air on January 10, 2025. Melvin, who currently hosts the third hour of Today alongside Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones, and Dylan Dreyer, will then move into Kotb’s position starting on Monday, January 13.

Guthrie made the announcement, saying of Melvin, “[He’s] talented, wonderful, hard-working, and the most worthy of this.” She added, “Let me just say, the larger staff found out this morning, and people broke into applause.”

“We are beyond thrilled to have Craig step into the co-anchor chair,” Libby Leist, senior vice president of Today said in a statement to staff on Thursday morning. “He’s been an integral and beloved part of our family. From breaking news coverage in the field, to presidential interviews, to multiple Olympics and Super Bowls, Craig’s shown he has the talent and the range to cover all that we do here at TODAY. And he does it without ever losing that Southern charm.”

We have exciting news this morning! @CraigMelvin will join Savannah Guthrie as TODAY co-anchor in January 2025. pic.twitter.com/ysEQsLdwU2

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 14, 2024

“I’m beyond excited and grateful,” Melvin said on Thursday’s show. “I want to thank NBC and the folks here who deemed me worthy. I’ve enjoyed a lifetime of blessings and this is the latest in a long line of blessings.”

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Melvin first joined the NBC family as a high school student, working for the NBC affiliate WIS-TV in Columbia, South Carolina. After college, he returned to WIS in July 2001 as a news photographer and producer, before becoming a reporter for the station’s morning news team.

He left WIS in July 2009 and moved to the NBC-owned WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., where he anchored the weekend evening newscasts. He then landed at MSNBC in July 2011, where he served as a daytime anchor, while also contributing to NBC News as a reporter.

In 2018, Melvin provided NBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics and was also promoted to weekday news anchor on Today, where he formed the cast of hosts heading Today Third Hour.

Kotb has served as a Today co-host since 2018. She announced her exit in September, revealing she would be stepping away from the show to spend more time with her two young daughters.

Today, Weekdays, 7 a.m. ET, NBC