Savannah Guthrie has signed a new contract extension with NBC News, securing her continued tenure as co-anchor of the flagship morning program Today. The agreement marks 15 years with the morning broadcast for the 54-year-old journalist and puts an end to industry speculation that she might step away from the anchor desk following the unsolved disappearance of her mother earlier this year.

How the deal came to light varied across outlets: NBC confirmed the extension directly to the Los Angeles Times on Friday, while People independently confirmed the renewal and trade outlets like Deadline and Variety cited sources familiar with the matter, noting the Breaker newsletter first reported the news. Neither the duration nor the financial terms of the new agreement have been publicly disclosed.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Guthrie's previous contract was reportedly expected to end later in 2026 or in early 2027, while Page Six reported that the prior deal was due to expire at the end of 2026.

Ratings Momentum and Financial Clout at 'Today'

Guthrie's decision to remain with the network comes at a pivotal moment for NBCUniversal, as Today approaches its 75th anniversary in January. After years of fierce morning television competition, the broadcast has recently surged ahead of its primary rivals, ABC's Good Morning America and CBS' CBS Mornings. According to Deadline and TheWrap, Today finished the previous season in the top spot for both total viewers and the advertiser-coveted 25-to-54 age demographic for the first time in 14 years.

That ratings momentum has carried into the current television season.

According to Nielsen data cited by Variety, as of November 8, Today commanded 39% of the overall audience tuning in to the three major broadcast-network morning shows season to date, maintaining its lead in both overall viewership and the key 25-to-54 demographic.

Despite broader audience erosion across linear television over the past decade, the program remains a massive revenue generator for the network. The first two hours of Today draw roughly 3 million viewers each weekday and generated nearly $203.5 million in advertising revenue in 2025, according to ad-spending tracker Guideline. When factoring in the third and fourth hours at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., NBC brought in approximately $315.4 million from the weekday editions of the broadcast last year.

Retaining a high-profile anchor runs counter to recent cost-cutting trends across the television news landscape. As media conglomerates scrutinize expenses in the streaming era, veteran broadcasters such as Hoda Kotb, Chris Wallace, and Neal Cavuto have exited their respective networks at NBC News, CNN, and Fox News.

Comcast is currently preparing to spin off NBCUniversal into a standalone publicly traded company in the coming months, having already offloaded cable channels including CNBC, USA, and MS NOW into a separate entity called Versant earlier this year. Even amid corporate restructuring, network insiders view Guthrie as a central pillar of the news division. In October 2024, when Kotb announced her departure, Page Six reported that Guthrie was earning between $7 million and $8 million annually.

Navigating an Unsolved Family Tragedy

The contract renewal follows a grueling nine months for Guthrie and her family outside the studio. Her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, vanished from her Catalina Foothills home in Tucson, Arizona, in early February.

Accounts of the initial timeline vary slightly across outlets: People and Yahoo Entertainment reported that Nancy was last seen at her home on the evening of January 31, 2026, and was reported missing by relatives on February 1 after she failed to attend a church service.

Page Six described Nancy as having been kidnapped from her residence in the early hours of February 1. The FBI has classified Nancy as a vulnerable adult who has difficulty walking, relies on a pacemaker, and requires daily heart medication.

According to Page Six, security camera footage released by the FBI showed a masked individual outside Nancy's front door on February 1, and investigators discovered a trail of blood on her front porch. On February 6, a ransom note was received demanding millions of dollars and stating she would be held for a maximum of seven days. However, authorities have not identified any suspects, and her whereabouts remain unknown.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department recently confirmed that the investigation remains active despite a lack of major breakthroughs.

In a statement cited by Yahoo Entertainment, the department noted that the Nancy Guthrie Task Force is working with laboratories to advance DNA analysis, adding that investigators traveled to Florida earlier this month to consult with lab scientists on potential next steps.

Following the abduction, Guthrie stepped away from the anchor desk. According to Entertainment Weekly and Yahoo Entertainment, she took a two-month leave from Today—though Page Six characterized the absence as a six-week hiatus before her April return—and later described the ordeal as involving "months of agony and unending trauma." Upon returning to the broadcast alongside co-anchor Craig Melvin, she told viewers it was "good to be home" before pivoting back to the daily news. In June, she spoke candidly on the air about the ongoing grief, telling viewers, "It's always with me.

I cry every morning on the way to work, and I cry every morning on the way home."

A 15-Year Tenure and Expanding NBC Role

Guthrie first joined NBC News in 2007 as a legal analyst and correspondent, also serving as a White House correspondent. She became a permanent fixture on Today in 2011, initially co-hosting the program's third hour alongside Natalie Morales and Al Roker while serving as NBC News' chief legal analyst. In 2012, she was promoted to main co-anchor of the flagship broadcast.

Today, she leads the morning program alongside Melvin, who succeeded Kotb as co-anchor in January 2025, as well as Roker, Carson Daly, and Jenna Bush Hager. Beyond her weekday morning duties, Guthrie remains a primary face for NBC's major live events, having recently anchored the network's midterm Election Night coverage and previous Olympic opening ceremonies.

Will the extension change Guthrie's role or schedule beyond her Today co-anchor duties?

In addition to continuing her weekday morning anchor duties, Guthrie is expanding her prime-time and special-event footprint at NBC. She is scheduled to co-host the upcoming Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade alongside Roker and former co-anchor Hoda Kotb.

Furthermore, in the coming months, Guthrie is slated to host a new NBC television game show based on the popular New York Times puzzle game Wordle, backed by Jimmy Fallon's Electric Hot Dog production company.

Did Guthrie or NBC disclose any salary or other deal terms?

No. Both NBC News and Guthrie's representatives have kept the specific length, renewal options, and financial figures of the new contract extension confidential.

Sources