I'm sure that most of you folks have heard the news about Megyn Kelly leaving FNC and going to NBC. As part of the deal she made with NBC, Kelly will host a daily talk show that will be aired on that network. Because there is zero chance that the NBC affiliates will give back another hour to the network, this means that NBC will have to axe one of its existing daytime programs.
Obviously, the fourth hour of the Today Show (with Kathie Lee and Hoda) is safe, given how well it's doing in the ratings. Thus, either Days of Our Lives or the third hour of Today will be cancelled. Logically, it seems that DOOL will be axed, since it has been floundering in the ratings for quite some time. I would be surprised if the third hour of Today was cancelled, since it still is more profitable for NBC than a soap opera.
It's interesting to see all the changes that have taken place in daytime television over the past decade. Without a doubt, CBS Daytime is in the best shape, as not one of its programs is doing poorly. CBS, of course, experienced a huge shakeup in 2009 & 2010 when Guiding Light and As the World Turns were cancelled and replaced with Let's Make a Deal and The Talk, respectively. Since that time, however, the CBS lineup has been remarkably stable, while ABC cancelled All My Children and One Life to Live, and has seen The View and General Hospital both experience ratings problems. (And while The Chew--which was AMC's replacement--is a profitable program, ABC aired OLTL's replacement--a show called The Revolution--for all of six months.)
Hypothetically speaking, if Megyn Kelly joined CBS instead of NBC, there's no doubt that LMAD would have gotten the axe (despite the fact that it's doing relatively well in the ratings). TPIR, Y&R, and B&B are three of the highest rated shows on daytime, so they are safe. And The Talk is pretty much immune from cancellation given that host Julie Chen is the wife of CBS CEO Les Moonves. (Furthermore, The Talk is doing well in the ratings, and--to the best of my knowledge--is a higher rated and more profitable program than is LMAD.) As a final matter, even though I strongly dislike many of the changes that have been made, I really do commend the current regime for maintaining TPIR's ratings success, since the show could have easily died without Bob.