Meredith Vieira Expected To Leave ‘The Today Show’

Meredith Vieira is expecting to step down as co-anchor of The Today Show when her contract expires in September.

Said to be “beloved” by the show’s cast and crew, it seems the required hours of filming combined with her personal life and being there in support of her husband [who is battling multiple sclerosis and cancer] seems to understandably be a bit too overwhelming to her. Vieira only signed a one-year deal when her contract expired last year, presumably in attempt to leave her departure options open if need be this time around.

However, “NBC is doing everything they can to convince her to stay,” an insider is admitting.

And that’s not the only woman planning to make her departure from the show. Katie Couric plans to step down from her post to host a daytime talk show when her contract is up in June.

The former ‘View’ panelist joined Matt Lauer on The Today Show after Katie Couric left to anchor the CBS Evening News. NBC responded only to say that “The ‘Today’ show anchors are currently under contract and firmly in place.”

It is expected that current news anchor Ann Curry will take Vieira’s place if she does indeed leave the show.