Hoda Kotb To Earn $18M Less Than Matt Lauer, Report Says

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY – New "Today" co-anchor Hoda Kotb will be making about $18 million less than the man she is replacing. Kotb signed a contract paying her $7 million annually for taking over the 7-9 a.m. broadcast of "Today," compared to disgraced former co-anchor Matt Lauer's $25 million salary, Page Six first reported.

Kotb was named the official co-anchor of "Today" during Tuesday's broadcast. She had been filling in for Lauer since he was fired for sexual harassment in November. Kotb's new contract pays her about the same as her current co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, Page Six reported.

"It's 2018 and we are kicking off the year right because Hoda is officially the co-anchor of today," Guthrie said at the top of Tuesday's broadcast. "This has to be the most popular decision NBC News has ever made."

In addition to co-anchoring the 7-9 a.m. hours of "Today," Kotb will continue her role as co-anchor of the 10 a.m. hour with Kathy Lee Gifford. Kotb has hosted the 10 a.m. hour of "Today" since 2008.

Lauer was fired in November after a colleague at NBC News accused him of sexual harrassment. At the time, NBC News Chairman Andy Lack called Lauer's misconduct a "clear violation of our company's standards" in a statement that was read on air.

Variety later published an investigation detailing complaints of Lauer's sexual harassment from three women who wished to remain anonymous. Variety's New York bureau chief Ramin Setoodeh said on social media that he worked on a story about Lauer's misconduct for two months and that he had been in contact with "multiple victims." Setoodeh also tweeted that NBC was aware of Variety's investigation into Lauer.

Lauer apologized to the women he harmed, NBC and his family, but maintained that some of the stories about his conduct are untrue. The full statement was acquired by CNN Media Reporter Brian Stelter, who posted it to Twitter.

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