Last Updated Jan 3, 2017 4:30 PM EST
Megyn Kelly is leaving Fox News, where she had been one of the network\u2019s biggest stars, for NBC News.
At NBC, she\u2019ll host a weekday daytime show, an in-depth Sunday magazine and take part in the network\u2019s coverage of high-profile events. She was at the 21st Century Fox ( FOX ) TV network for 12 years and gained notoriety after she clashed during presidential debates with Donald Trump.
According to The New York Times, NBC News President Andrew Lack was able to convince the 46-year-old Kelly to leave Fox News, even though it seemed doubtful that NBC or other networks could match the $20 million annual compensation that Fox offered her to stay.
Kelly\u2019s contract isn\u2019t due to expire until the summer, and it isn\u2019t clear if Fox will allow her to start ahead of time, the newspaper said. Financial terms of Kelly\u2019s deal were not disclosed. Fox News and NBC News didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment for this story.
\u201cWhile I will greatly miss my colleagues at Fox, I am delighted to be joining the NBC News family and taking on a new challenge,\u201d Kelly said in a statement on her Facebook page. \u201cI remain deeply grateful to Fox News, to Rupert, Lachlan and James Murdoch, and especially to all of the (Fox News Channel) viewers, who have taught me so much about what really matters.\u201d
Kelly\u2019s tenure at Fox News has been rocky since she gained notoriety for questioning now President-elect Trump during a 2015 presidential debate about why he called women he didn\u2019t like \u201cfat pigs, slobs, and disgusting animals.\u201d When Trump joked that he said mean things only about his longtime nemesis Rosie O\u2019Donnell, Kelly responded that his remarks were targeted more broadly than at just the stand-up comedian.
Kelly later complained about getting death threats from pro-Trump supporters.
She wound up in the headlines again last summer when former Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson accused longtime Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes of sexual harassment in a lawsuit. Several high-profile Fox hosts such as Bill O\u2019Reilly, Maria Bartiromo and Sean Hannity publicly defended Ailes against the accusations. O\u2019Reilly even called the 76-year-old Ailes \u201cthe best boss I ever had.\u201d
Kelly, however, broke ranks and told an internal Fox investigation that Ailes had made unwanted advances toward her when she was starting out her career. More than a dozen other women made similar claims, and Ailes was eventually forced to resign. Ailes has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Lachlan and James Murdoch, sons of 21st Century Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch, reportedly were keen on keeping Kelly at the network. The elder Murdoch took over from Ailes as the head of Fox News on a temporary basis.
\u201cIt\u2019s a loss for Fox,\u201d said Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University\u2019s Bleier Center for Television & Popular Culture, who called Kelly a \u201cbona fide news celebrity.\u201d He added that \u201cThere has been a lot of animosity between Megyn Kelly and Fox, and I have a feeling that they aren\u2019t terribly surprised\u201d by her decision.
Moving to NBC News will greatly increase the size of Kelly\u2019s audience. Fox News averaged 2.4 million viewers in prime time, the most of any cable network in 2016. However, \u201cNBC Nightly News\u201d attracted more than 9 million viewers during the week of Dec. 19 , topping rivals ABC, which is owned by Walt Disney ( DIS ) and CBS ( CBS ), the parent company of CBSNews.com
NBC\u2019s move isn\u2019t without risks. High-profile talent such as Katie Couric and Anderson Cooper tried and failed to attract audiences in daytime. NBC\u2019s magazine show \u201cRock Center\u201d was canceled in 2013 after two seasons. Plus, Kelly faces a challenge in switching from cable to a wider audience on a broadcast network.
\u201cOne has to wait and see how these transitions get made,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cSometimes you move from one place to another, and it\u2019s a triumph. Sometimes it\u2019s not. They aren\u2019t going to put Megyn Kelly into a daytime show that people are going to confuse with a Fox show, but at the same time they would be wise to play upon the strengths for which she is known.\u201d
Kelly, who has a law degree, could wind up with high-profile assignments like anchoring the news or appearing on the \u201cToday\u201d show given her experience and credibility with the audience, according to Thompson.
\u201cNow that she\u2019s with NBC, she could potentially be popping up on MSNBC,\u201d noted for being the liberal answer to Fox News, \u201cwhich is funny,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n

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