NBC’s succession planning at both ends of its weekday schedule is causing no small amount of heartburn within the corridors of Rockefeller Center. It is playing out in public view, enveloping two of the most illustrious shows on television, “Today” and “The Tonight Show,” and two of the most successful men who have hosted those shows.

In Mr. Lauer’s case, the rumored successor on Wednesday was Anderson Cooper, the biggest star on CNN. Reports of a phone call from an NBC executive to size up Mr. Cooper’s interest in co-hosting “Today” renewed speculation about Mr. Lauer’s future on the show. NBC tried to quell it by saying, in a blunt statement, “We are not considering replacing Matt Lauer.”

The network’s plans for “The Tonight Show” are, by all accounts, further along. With Mr. Leno’s contract coming due in the fall of 2014, NBC has chosen Jimmy Fallon to be his successor. Though a deal is not yet done, Mr. Fallon is expected to take over “Tonight” that fall, if not earlier.

The plans for “Today” remain murky. Mr. Lauer, a star of the show for the better part of two decades, signed a contract last year — believed to pay him $25 million a year — that keeps him at NBC at least through the end of 2014. But the perception that Mr. Lauer forced his co-host Ann Curry from her job last year has badly damaged his reputation. Within the network, his current contract is widely considered to be his last, so there is clearly some succession planning to do.

The nature of the call to Mr. Cooper, however, raised the possibility that NBC might remove Mr. Lauer before his contract expires, or that Mr. Lauer might ask to be replaced. The inquiry, as reported by Deadline.com on Tuesday night, was about whether Mr. Cooper would consider joining “Today” later this year. His contract at CNN expires this fall, and other networks have expressed interest in hiring him.

Three people in the tight-knit television business, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the outreach was considered confidential, confirmed that the call was made this month. But executives at NBC, while tacitly confirming their interest in Mr. Cooper, strenuously denied that they saw him as a short-term fix to the problems that have plagued “Today,” which fell to second place in the ratings last year after 16 years at No. 1.

A news division executive, who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity, said in a statement, “NBC News has many exploratory talks with talent inside and outside of the network, but to read anything specific into that is presumptuous.”

The same person also said, “We are confident in our anchor team and are focused on producing great morning TV.”

Mr. Lauer still has millions of fans, just as Mr. Leno does at night. But that has not stopped high-ranking NBC executives from wondering aloud whether they should make a change at “Today” before Mr. Lauer’s contract expires. The new co-host of the 9 a.m. hour of “Today,” Willie Geist, and the moderator of “Meet the Press,” David Gregory, are mentioned most often as possible successors.

Ryan Seacrest, the “American Idol” host and a radio D.J., was discussed a year ago as a possible replacement, but his name comes up less frequently these days.

That the names are mentioned at all is a challenge for the network going forward. While NBC News executives say they have resisted the lighter fare and tabloid style of their rival, ABC’s “Good Morning America,” the “Today” show itself risks becoming tabloid fodder.

In the wake of the Deadline.com report, TMZ.com reported that its sources had said that “Lauer is actually on board with the idea of Anderson replacing him,” and that he “planned to have a meeting with Anderson to sit down and discuss it.”

A spokeswoman for “Today” who represents Mr. Lauer declined to comment.

It is unclear who at NBC or its parent company, Comcast, made the call to Mr. Cooper. The news division does not currently have a president. Patricia Fili-Krushel, the chairwoman of NBCUniversal News Group, who oversees the news division, previously worked at Time Warner, the parent of CNN, for nearly a decade.

In some ways, Mr. Cooper would be a logical choice for “Today”: he is in his mid-40s and has demonstrated that he can juggle hard news interviews with the fun and games that morning television shows serve up.

His presence on “Today” might spur former viewers to give the show another chance. “Today” has fallen about 20 percent in the ratings since Ms. Curry was removed as a co-host next to Mr. Lauer last summer.

Co-hosting “Today” would, however, be a drastic lifestyle change for Mr. Cooper, who is “not a morning person,” one friend said, and is used to hosting a prime-time newscast. “Anderson Cooper 360,” his nightly hour on CNN, is shown live at 8 p.m. and replayed at 10 p.m.

While “360” is one of CNN’s highest-rated programs, it has struggled in the ratings: it currently attracts fewer than one million viewers at 8 p.m.

Furthermore, Mr. Cooper’s shot at a daytime talk show in the fall of 2011 has been viewed as a disappointment. It was renewed for a second season but canceled last October, only one month into that season.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Cooper at CNN declined to comment. When his CNN contract ends, another option besides “Today” is an expanded role on the weekly CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes.”

He currently contributes a few stories to the newsmagazine each year. His CNN contract prohibits him from doing more, and CBS executives would jump at the chance to change that.

Mr. Cooper may opt to stay at CNN, however, given that it provides him a daily presence on television.

“Today” would provide the same thing, and a much bigger audience. But Mr. Cooper may be leery of appearing to force out Mr. Lauer.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/business/media/nbc-is-said-to-offer-lauers-job-to-cooper.html?partner=rss&emc=rss