9 TV News Anchors Who Left the Networks That Made Them Stars
With the recent news that Megyn Kelly is leaving Fox News for a shiny new gig at NBC, we thought it’d be fun to round up some other news and sports anchors who have swapped networks.
Click through the gallery for a reminder on where these famous anchors used to hang their TV hats.
Katie Couric
The 59-year-old media darling has worked at all of the Big Three TV networks—NBC, ABC and CBS. But it was her morning gig on Today that launched her into TV superstardom. She stayed with the peacock for 17 years before leaving for CBS in 2006.
Couric is currently the Global Anchor for Yahoo! News, and also contributes to the ABC News division.
Alisyn Camerota
Camerota spent 16 years building her broadcasting career at Fox News in various roles. In 2014, she made a surprising switch over to CNN’s New Day.
Harry Smith
For 17 years, Smith hosted CBS’s CBS This Morning and The Early Show. He made the switch over to NBC in July 2011 to join Brian Williams on his now-gone Rock Center. Currently, he reports for NBC News and CNBC.
Diane Sawyer
The seasoned journalist built her broadcasting career at CBS, where she did everything from reporting for CBS News to becoming the first female correspondent on 60 Minutes. In 1989, she moved over to ABC to co-anchor Primetime Live, where she remained in various capacities (GMA, ABC World News, etc.) for the rest of her career.
Matt Lauer
What most don’t remember about NBC’s Today host is that he actually began his career at ESPN in the 80s. Otherwise, he’s been loyal to the peacock for over two decades.
Barbara Walters
The broadcasting pioneer began her storied career at The Today Show in the 1960s, before she left for a job opposite Harry Reasoner on ABC Evening News. She went on to co-host 20/20 and, of course, created the national treasure that is The View.
Erin Andrews
Andrews actually started her career in sports journalism at Fox Sports Florida, but she didn’t gain fame until she joined ESPN in 2004. In 2012, she moved over to Fox Sports covering the NFL, MLB, college football and more. Andrews is also the current co-host of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars.
Josh Elliott
Elliott began his career in 2004 at ESPN, co-hosting SportsCenter among a variety of other duties, before moving to fill a position on ABC’s Good Morning America in 2011. His biggest change however, came in 2014 when he was poached by NBC after being offered a $4 million contract to ditch his ABC roots. Surprisingly, the following year he left NBC for a role on CBS’s CBSN as lead anchor.
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services