(Reuters) – “Today” show co-host Ann Curry planned to stay on the NBC morning show for at least five more years and took the ratings war with ABC’s “Good Morning America” personally, she told a magazine in a recent interview.
The interview took place with the Ladies’ Home Journal magazine on May 9, before NBC executives began negotiating her exit from co-hosting duties on the “Today” show.
“You worry, am I not good enough? Am I not what people need? Am I asking the right questions?, “she said. “When people say negative things or speculate, you can’t help but feel hurt.”
Curry said in the interview she took the ratings war with ABC’s “Good Morning America” personally and worried about her performance. “Today” has fallen in the ratings since Curry became a co-host with Matt Lauer last June. In April, ABC’s “Good Morning America” moved ahead of “Today” in total viewers for the first time in 16 years.
Curry added “I haven’t dropped the ball when it comes” to viewers.
“I’ve been at ‘Today’ for 15 years and I’d love to make it to 20,” she told the women’s magazine.
The interview will appear in the August issue of the magazine which comes out on July 10. Portions of the interview were published on the magazine’s website on Thursday.
People with knowledge of the talks told Reuters on Wednesday that NBC executives were trying to find a new slot for her on one of the network’s news programs, and want to announce the change before the London Olympics start July 27.
Natalie Morales, a “Today” news anchor, and Savannah Guthrie, legal analyst and co-host of the show’s third hour, are considered the most likely candidates to take over from Curry.
Last year, the “Today” show generated $848 million in advertising revenue for NBC, making it one of the most profitable shows on television, according to Horizon Media. “Good Morning America” generated about $298 million.
A spokeswoman for NBC News could not be reached for comment.
Comcast Corp owns NBC, and Walt Disney Co owns ABC.
(Reporting By Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Ronald Grover and Phil Berlowitz)
