Ann Curry Isn’t The Only One Who Hates Matt Lauer. The New York Times reports:

It is clear that the once-popular host’s relationship with his audience is in peril. Last April, Mr. Lauer signed a contract said to be worth $25 million a year, the most lucrative deal in the 60-year history of morning television. And then the bottom fell out…

Mr. Lauer’s Q Score — a measure of likability, treated as gospel by the TV industry — has fallen by more than half since he was paired with Ms. Curry in June 2011. It was a 19 that September; by this January it was a 9….

He is criticized routinely in the media; one columnist this week said simply, “He’s got to go.” And even members of his own staff are sharply divided: some say he, and “Today,” can recover from the last year, while others say his reputation is irreparable. [more]

How Smash Became TV’s Biggest Train Wreck. The show was supposed to be the show that saved NBC — but people laughed at it instead. BuzzFeed’s Kate Authur tries to figure out where it all went so wrong.

huffposttv:

New “30 Rock” will be on TOMORROW and not Thursday. It’s the election episode.

Christmas Is Officially Here. Target aired the first major holiday ad on Tuesday, October 9 during an episode of Parenthood on NBC. (Watch it here.)

Everything you need to know about Ann Curry’s Replacement | BuzzFeed

Ann Curry bids a tearful farewell to Today. But she does get one final dig in:

They’re giving me some fancy new titles, which essentially means that I’m going to get tickets to every big story we want to cover.

Those fancy new titles are: Today Anchor at Large and National and International Correspondent for NBC News. What a mouthful. [Watch her say goodbye here]