Matt Lauer to remain 'Today' show anchor

Yoni Kaufman
5/9/2011

Lauer has decided to stay put after plans to join Katie Couric's proposed talk show fall through.

Following Meredith Vieira's announcement that she will be leaving the Today show on June 8, her co-anchor Matt Lauer confirmed that he is not going anywhere.

As reported by USA Today, Lauer admitted in a press conference that Katie Couric approached him about joining her planned daytime talk show. "We certainly spoke about the possibility," he said. "But it turned into just talk, and that's where we left it. It's not going to happen."

According to the Los Angeles Times, negotiations between Lauer and Couric failed because Couric's timetable was accelerating much faster than his; like Vieira, Couric will be stepping down from the CBS Evening News in June.

"I just determined that there really wasn't a need for us to continue the conversation right now because I'm not going anywhere," Lauer said.

"I have a long-term deal with NBC," added Lauer, whose contract expires on December 31, 2012. "I'm gonna be here for a while."