Hoda Kotb, an NBC News fixture who served as co-anchor of NBC’s “Today” morning show when longtime host Matt Lauer was fired in 2017, will leave the show early next year and take on not one, but two key roles on the network’s flagship morning shows.

On Thursday morning, Kotb spoke on the program about her desire to spend time with two young daughters. “I realized it was time to turn the page,” she told her colleagues on the program after her recent 60th birthday. She noted that she had children later in life and that “they deserve a bigger share of my time than I do.” She is expected to continue contributing to the program after she leaves in early 2025.

Her shoes will be tough to fill. Not only is Kotb the host of the first two hours of “Today” with Savannah Guthrie, but she’s also a regular on the lighter hour at 10, which she co-hosted with Jenna Bush Hager and Kathie Lee Gifford. She’s demonstrated a versatility — she can tackle tough news stories and personality quirks while still showcasing emotion and heart on screen — that not every TV personality can.

She may be making a smart exit. Network morning anchors are among the highest paid in the TV news business, but the economics of AM TV aren’t what they once were. As viewers abandon traditional TV for digital platforms, whether it’s streaming content, AM newscasts or early-morning shows aimed at niche audiences, those salaries at the top end of the market are likely to come under renewed scrutiny.

All the major morning shows will be forced to consider succession issues in the coming years, as the cash flow that once fueled the format dwindles. At ABC, some of the “GMA” anchors’ contracts are likely to come up for renewal in the next 12 to 18 months. CBS may have postponed the issue by negotiating a new contract with “CBS Mornings” co-anchor Gayle King, but even that won’t undo the work of developing potential replacements for the anchor, who is expected to turn 70 in the coming months.

Kotb announces her departure as “Today” is riding high in today’s ratings race. Boosted by NBC’s recent coverage of the Paris Olympics, “Today” surpassed “GMA” in viewership in the third quarter of this year — the first time the show has outspent its rival by a quarter in total viewers since the first quarter of 2018. “GMA” has struggled with declines in recent months, particularly among viewers aged 25 to 54 — the audience most coveted by Madison Avenue news show sponsors.

It’s certainly true that morning audiences have been declining for years. The average audience for NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “Good Morning America” and CBS’ “CBS Mornings” has all declined since 2020, according to data from the Pew Research Center. Between 2020 and 2022, morning news audiences fell 11% for NBC, 9% for ABC and 8% for CBS.

NBC has a deep bench from which to draw. Craig Melvin, who took over prominent hosting duties at “Today” in 2018 and also co-hosts the 9 p.m. program, has been seen as a potential replacement for Kotb, who could take on the duties without too much fuss for viewers. Tom Llamas, who joined NBC News in 2022 and has been seen as a potential candidate for some of the news unit’s most prominent anchor roles, has filled in on “Today” and currently hosts an evening program on the livestreaming service NBC News Now. There are also a number of candidates who could work the 10 a.m. hour, where Bush Hager has built a following with glimpses into her personal life and a book club that has become a viable sideline.

Kotb has been with NBC News since 1998, when she joined the newsmagazine “Dateline” as a correspondent. She came to NBC after years of working for CBS affiliates in Florida and Louisiana. But she gained wider exposure in 2007 when she joined a fourth hour of “Today,” which typically airs at 10 a.m. Kotb was initially one of the staffers assigned to the show, but within months she was paired with Kathie Lee Gifford, a veteran of ABC’s syndicated program “Live” who had long held her own with Regis Philbin.

Suddenly, Kotb was talking about her dating adventures with Gifford. She was being satirized on “Saturday Night Live” and sharing more of her personal life than a journalist might expect. “It used to be that you could host a morning show, even the 7, and not really reveal much. And I think that’s changed now. I think now, as part of entering this world, you have to reveal things. Because people expect so much more,” Kotb said. Variety in 2014. “They don’t know whether to love you or not if you don’t share anything and sometimes you have to move on. I feel like I’ve moved on beyond where I’m comfortable.”

She works more hours a day at NBC than many of her colleagues. In addition to anchoring two different segments of “Today,” Kotb is also involved in programming for SiriusXM. “You’re not planting your butt on a stool anymore and doing your show,” Kotb said. Variety in 2020. “If you think you can do it the old fashioned way, the way you used to do it, those days are over.”