Hoda Kotb On The Massive Reach Of NBC’s ‘Today’

When the actor Priyanka Chopra Jones appeared on NBC’s Today last week, it was hardly surprising that the interview happened just as Chopra Jones’ new spy series, Citadel, launched worldwide on Prime Video. What was surprising, perhaps, was that talking up the new show took a backseat to the very natural conversation with Today co-host Hoda Kotb that touched on marriage, raising kids, and finding ways to balance work and home. It was clear that Kotb and Chopra had the kind of familiarity with each other that doesn’t often happen in time compressed live television interviews. “She’s got a one year old baby, she’s got her husband, she’s shooting,” Kotb told me. “She’s in India, her mother’s with her—she’s just got a whole bunch of stuff going on.”

It’s the kind of fast-paced and heavily scheduled life that can often translate into a stilted and superficial interview on TV. But the chemistry between Chopra and Kotb that made for such a natural conversation on TV had developed in the weeks before, when Chopra did a photo shoot and then talked to Kotb in an extended podcast interview free from the time restraints of broadcast television.

“I felt like we paused,” Kotb told me. “And there was a moment it’s like that everything quieted around us. It wasn’t selling. She wasn’t promoting. It didn’t feel like that. It was just a conversation between two women.”

That conversation that will ultimately reach millions—many of them women who won’t have been watching the live interview on NBC. Today, which dates to 1952, has been expanding its brand rapidly into digital, streaming, podcasts, social media, and e-commerce. Thanks to NBC’s massive streaming platforms, you can watch Today All Day, a 24-hour streaming channel, and listen to the “Making Space with Hoda Kotb” podcast. The Priyanka Chopra profile in the Today “digital cover” at Today.com has the lush layout, rich narrative storytelling and stunning photography usually found only in glossy monthly magazines.

Add it all up, and Today has a staggering omnichannel reach of 81 million people each month. That means Today’s competition isn’t just ABC Good Morning America anymore—it’s also brands like Vanity Fair and Glamour. “Today has really been a pioneer in that space,” said Libby Leist, executive vice president of Today & Lifestyle. “We are steadfastly building this huge lifestyle juggernaut.”

It’s the kind of reach that’s irresistible to celebrities, and means someone like Priyanka Chopra will devote time far beyond a five minute live interview. And that added time, ultimately, produces far more powerful conversations.

“So when we do our Today show interview, it will come easily, because I sort of have already cast this wide net during this during this interview I did with her,” Kotb told me. “But to imagine that we have the luxury of sitting with someone and learning all about them for an extended period of time…I sat with Priyanka for probably 40 minutes. And then at the same time, she gets to come with us on the Today show, answer some interesting questions. And also have some fun, because the Today show is full of unexpected moments.”

And those moments on TV—along with the rich, slower paced conversations the fill Today’s digital interviews and podcasts—are clicking with Today’s loyal audience. “When we go out on the plaza and say hi to people,” Kotb told me, “they’ll talk to us about, you know, their lives and what’s going on. And they came here two years ago. And you know, you remember this picture when I came with my son, and he was sick, and all that stuff. But now what I’m hearing more and more is people who are listening to these in depth interviews. They were like, I, I listened to your podcast, I cried with Viola Davis. I felt like I knew her. One by one. They said this one taught me this. And it’s so funny, because sometimes when we do a podcast, it does feel like an intimate conversation.”

One of the benefits of expanding Today’s brand well beyond morning TV has been reaching younger consumers—many of whom never grew up with the habit of watching live TV. While broadcast TV viewers are getting older, Today’s omnichannel audience is skewing younger, with half of Today’s social audience under the age of 44. “It’s extraordinary. We are the number one lifestyle brand on TV and digital,” said Leist. “And so to have Hoda and Priyanka team up in that way, and bring people these in-depth interviews—that’s what we’re looking for in every booking call and every project we’re working on: how do we maximize the content? What’s our maximum reach and maximum opportunity to reach as many people as possible?”

“I feel like we get the best of all of it,” said Kotb. “If you’d like things to slow down, we’ve got you covered, man. We’ve got you totally covered. If you only have five minutes because you’re in a rush, you’ll get what you need.”