Craig Melvin, who has served as the de facto third co-anchor for the show for years, typically joining Kotb and co-anchor Savannah Guthrie at the anchor desk after the first half hour, though his name is not in the open and he is only typically introduced on-air briefly, will take over Jan. 13, 2024.

The journalist, who has been at NBC for 26 years, joked as recently as Monday that she did not know who would take her spot after she moved on.

Veteran NBC host and news anchor Craig Melvin has been tapped to replace Hoda Kotb as co-host of the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. hours of “Today.”