Savannah Guthrie parlaying town hall moderator gig into new NBC deal

October 27, 2020

Savannah Guthrie is on the brink of signing a new megadeal with NBC, after the network was impressed with her moderating of a town hall with President Trump, Page Six can reveal.

The “Today” anchor — who took the reins of the NBC show after Matt Lauer’s unceremonious exit over sexual harassment allegations nearly three years ago — is getting a huge salary bump, we’re told.

She signed a contract extension in December 2016, shortly after the last presidential election, and was rumored to be getting $8 million a year — nowhere near Lauer’s $20 million-a-year deal. Asked about numbers, a TV source told us: “Savannah’s new deal will be significantly more than $8 million a year, taking into consideration inflation, Lauer’s old deal and her popularity.”

Guthrie, who will helm NBC News’ election coverage next week alongside Lester Holt and Chuck Todd, impressed bosses with her steady hand during the Trump town hall two weeks ago by going toe-to-toe with the president. She also recently bagged the first live interview with Bob Woodward about his blockbuster Trump book “Rage.”

Earlier in the pandemic, she also successfully co-hosted “Today” while holed up in the basement of her upstate New York home that was turned into a makeshift studio — after she developed a mild sore throat and stuffy nose, needing to self-quarantine.

Another source said: “Savannah is in a new realm now at the network.”

During the town hall, Guthrie pressed the president on issues from COVID-19 to QAnon. She also asked Trump about his retweet of a conspiracy theory that the death of Osama bin Laden was faked. “Why would you send a lie like that to your followers?” Guthrie asked Trump. “I know nothing about it,” Trump said. “You retweeted it,” Guthrie pointed out. “I don’t get that … You’re the president — you’re not like someone’s crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever.”

Reps for NBC did not comment.

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