Ryan Seacrest Stays Mum on ‘Today’ Show Talk

As Ryan Seacrest partners with Mark Cuban and others to rebrand HDNet, he remains in the process of negotiating a new contract with Comcast, NBCU’s parent company. In an interview with the New York Times‘ Brian Stelter, Seacrest fielded questions about speculation he will might join the “Today” show, perhaps as Matt Lauer‘s successor, should Lauer leave:

What appeals to him about the morning hours? After all, he already hosts a syndicated radio show every weekday morning for Clear Channel. “If you look at my day, I like every hour,” he answered. “I try to maximize every hour of every day.”

But he understood what we were insinuating. He wasn’t going to reveal any “Today” show plans on the phone on Wednesday, but he did reiterate his respect for Mr. Lauer, who has been the co-host of “Today” since 1997.

“Matt is a friend of mine,” Mr. Seacrest said. “Matt will have that post as long as Matt wants to have that post. He is truly one of the best in the business.”

Lauer, at least, seems to have a sense of humor about it. During remarks at the 60th anniversary party for the “Today” show last week, he jokingly added Seacrest’s name to a long list of anchors closely associated with the program. But could a bit of levity become reality? Stay tuned.

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