NBC - IT'S OFFICIAL: TODAY TO EXPAND TO FOUR HOURS

IT'S OFFICIAL: TODAY TO EXPAND TO FOUR HOURS

NBC officially confirmed Tuesday that it plans to expand its Today show to four hours in September. In a statement, Today executive producer Jim Bell said that the additional hour will make deciding what goes into the show "and what gets left on the cutting-room floor" easier for him. The network's reporters and producers, he said, "bring us so much material. Now, there is simply more time for all of them." Matt Lauer, the show's primary male host, has already expressed misgivings about expanding the program. In a recent interview with TV Week, he worried that doing so would likely "dilute the Today brand." He said that he had made it "fairly clear" to NBC executives that he had "mixed emotions" about the plan.

18/01/2007