Ryan Seacrest Jumping Ship to NBC – Is This His Last Season on American Idol?

Ryan Seacrest - Hollywood Power House

It goes without saying that Ryan Seacrest is one of the hardest working men in Hollywood and has amassed a career that spans radio, television, producing, and along the way has become a household name.

In fact, the Hollywood Reporter has named him the most powerful man in Reality TV today.

But change might be in the air for Seacrest.

Ryan appeared on the NBC “Today” show to chat with Matt Lauer and make a much anticipated, and hyped big announcement.

The big news turned out to be that Seacrest was joining the NBC family and his first project will be participating with the network for coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

But there may be more below the surface that has not been flushed out to the public yet.

Watch Matt and Ryan on the Today Show


E! Entertainment and Ryan have been working together for years and American Idol is on the FOX Network and now Ryan’s working with NBC/Comcast – awkward?

With Seacrest joining the NBC team some have speculated that Seacrest may take over the Today Show from Matt Lauer.

The two even joked about that conversation in the video above but we don’t see it happening anytime soon.

Related: Sacha Baron Cohen dumps ashes on Ryan Seacrest - Video

The big news now is what happens with Ryan’s upcoming contract negotiations with the executives at FOX and American Idol for next season. Will he say?

Seacrest says he is unable to comment on his contract with Idol but an announcement will be coming soon.

We suspect he can stay as long as he wants.

And in case you’re not aware, thirty-eight year old Seacrest is also the executive producer of the TV shows “Melissa and Tye”, “Shahs of Sunset”, “Food Revolution”, “Kourtney and Kim Take New York”, “Khloé and Lamar”, “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”, “On-Air with Ryan Seacrest”, and just about every red carpet or awards show presented on the E! Network.

But for now we know he is not taking Matt Lauer’s job away and suspect he will remain on American Idol for as long as he wants.

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Meredith Vieira leaving TODAY Show - Ann Curry New Co-anchor – Video

Meredith Vieira announced this morning that she will be leaving the NBC Today Show next month.

Current news correspondent Ann Curry will assume her role as co-anchor along with Matt Lauer.

It had been rumored that Lauer was also leaving but NBC says they have a multi-year contract and he is happy with his role and will be staying put.

NBC News President Steve Capus said,

“Meredith is a remarkable woman and broadcaster who in five short years has left an indelible imprint on morning television. While we will miss waking up with her each morning, we are working together on developing her next chapter at NBC News.”

Meredith, 57, joined Matt Lauer at the anchor desk in 2006 when Katie Couric left to anchor the CBS Evening News.



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Are Meredith Vieira AND Matt Lauer Both Leaving NBC’s Today Show? Say it Aint So!

In what can only be described as major bad news for the NBC network, reports are surfacing that BOTH Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer say they will be leaving the Today show later this year.

Some are wondering if the network can survive yet another high profile departure after the blow from Alec Baldwin yesterday that “30 Rock” is over.

Related: Alec Baldwin Says ’30 Rock’ Ending – Tina Fey Leaving the Show

When asked about the speculation, NBC press handlers said,

“There seems to be an awful lot of speculation around news anchors these days, and it’s not our practice to comment on any of it. Matt Lauer has a long term contract with NBC News and ‘Today. ”

True. But both host contracts are due to expire at the end of this year, and “ET” reported that Lauer had been telling everybody he planned to move on once his contract expired in December. And TV Guide was reporting earlier this week about Meredith’s desire to exit the show.

TV Guide says Vieira has been in discussions with NBC executives for several months about extending her contract, but she is said to be exhausted with the demanding early hours and is ready to move on.

Vieira also said that the health of her husband, who has battled multiple sclerosis and cancer, will be a factor in considering her future on the program.

It doesn’t appear that there is any personal friction between the two hosts, in fact they seem like they get along pretty well, even in live embarrassing moments like when Matt Lauer’s divorce turned into laughs on the show.

On critic stated,

“Of course NBC is going to deny it. They just lost ’30 Rock’ and now their morning news lineup is falling apart.”

There has been some speculation that Vieira, Lauer, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin are gracefully trying to exit the network before the Comcast NBC Universal deal begins to impact daily operations.

One insider commented,

“Comcast is going to chop up every bit of content they can mine from NBC and either charge for it or try to keep others from embedding it on the internet. The days of being able to freely use NBC content are over.”

THAT seems to make more sense than anything else – the big stars want to get behind NBC before the Comcast takeover is complete because they see what the future will look like and they don’t want any part of it.

But it could also be the oldest ploy in the Hollywood playbook – act like you’re going to leave just before your contract expires so they will offer you more money for the next season.

Somehow, in a sad way, that seems to make the most sense of all.

Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon – your move?

Matt Lauer Divorce Turns Into Laughs On The Today Show - Video

Meredith Vieira put her foot in her mouth Monday morning on the Today show by asking about Matt Lauer's marriage. It seems Lauer has a hard time staying married, and the subject is supposed to be "off limits" while on air.

Introducing a segment on the "right age to get married," Vieira said, "I got married in my 30s, when did you get married?"

Lauer, who married TV producer Nancy Alspaugh when he was in his early twenties, was divorced seven years later. Lauer stumbled, fumbled for words, and then laughed, as an embarrassed Vieira erupted into laughter and producers made comments from the sidelines.

Lauer's current marriage to Dutch model Annette Roque is also in trouble, and has been the source of tabloid gossip for some time. The couple has been married for 7 years and has three children.

Rogue originally filed for divorce in September 2006, but changed her mind and withdrew the papers a month later. If the two divorce, Matt would be forced to share his estimated $50 million fortune.

Watch Meredith Vieira And Matt Lauer Laugh About His Marriage Troubles


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