NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke still believes that Megyn Kelly is a “big star” even though her Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly program has precipitously tanked in the ratings and has yet to beat out a rerun of 60 Minutes.
NBC invested nearly $20 million a year to bring Kelly over from Fox News, but its over-hyped talent has failed to win the respect of her mainstream media peers and the interest of the general public.
Yet, Burke told the Hollywood Reporter that he thinks Kelly is “doing a great job.”
“She’s a big star, and there aren’t that many big stars in the news business,” he said. “Somebody with that kind of star power, it is complicated bringing her over without disturbing other people, but I think she’s doing a great job.”
Over the weekend, a network executive told CNN that NBC’s fundamental mistake was thinking that Kelly was a “superstar.”
Variety was harsher, noting that Kelly’s “star is dimmer than ever.” And CNN reported that television executives are already speculating whether NBC will cut its losses and cancel Kelly’s how after the football season.
NBC had reportedly been “freaking out” over the “ratings disaster” that Kelly has turned out to be even before her much-hyped interview with Alex Jones ended up being her lowest-rated show to date.
When Kelly’s interview with Jones again could not beat out reruns of 60 Minutes and America’s Funniest Home Videos, New York radio host Mark Simone said NBC may be looking to unload Kelly and even convince Fox News to take her back.
But a high-ranking Fox News executive exclusively told Breitbart News that Kelly “would not be welcomed back” at Fox News.