There's a change coming to NBC's daytime lineup -- and that has some Days of our Lives fans more than a little anxious.
NBC announced today that it had reached a deal to lure Megyn Kelly away from her current home at FOX News. As part of the deal, Kelly will be given a Monday-through-Friday talk show that will debut sometime in 2017. It is unknown where Kelly's show would land on the schedule.
The bulk of NBC's morning hours -- four of them, in fact -- are devoted to Today, which is the network's most profitable show. It is extremely unlikely that NBC would tinker with a programming block that generates hundreds of millions of dollars.
With the exception of Days of our Lives, much of the NBC stations' daytime lineups consist of syndicated programming. The network could, as ABC has done in recent years, negotiate with affiliates to give the new Kelly show a strong placement somewhere in the afternoon lineup. Another option might have NBC putting the new talk show in the early evening hours where many stations air Access Hollywood.
Citing network sources, the New York Times states that "NBC was confident that it would not be a problem" to find a place for Kelly's show.
In addition to the weekday chat show, Kelly is also slated to get a Sunday evening newsmagazine show. There, too, NBC already has a solid lineup of programming in place: Sunday Night Football. There is speculation that Kelly's Sunday show could be a limited-run series
"Megyn is an exceptional journalist and news anchor, who has had an extraordinary career," Andrew Lack, Chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, said in a statement. "She's demonstrated tremendous skill and poise, and we're lucky to have her."
Kelly will also be part of NBC's breaking news coverage as well as the network's political and special events coverage.
Kelly's contract with FOX News was not due to expire until mid-year.
"We thank Megyn Kelly for her 12 years of contributions to FOX News," Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of 21st Century Fox, said in a statement. "We hope she enjoys tremendous success in her career and wish her and her family all the best."
If this scenario sounds familiar, there's a reason. In 2011, ABC signed Katie Couric to its news division -- and, like Kelly, Couric was given a talk show that aired on ABC daytime. The talk show failed to catch on with viewers, and Couric's show was canceled after just two seasons.
At the present time, it is not known if Kelly's talk show will have any impact on Days of our Lives. DAYS received a one-season renewal from NBC in February 2016. A spokesperson for Days of our Lives has not yet responded to requests for a statement.
Are you at all concerned about DAYS' future? Do you think Megan Kelly could actually be good for DAYS? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
