NBC's Heart Goes Out To 'Ann Curry' As They Move On To Bigger Goals

NBC Chairman Bob Greenblatt kicked off his network's share of the summer press tour by touching on their television success for the 2011-2012 season.   While doting on NBC's upcoming seasonal goals, Greenblatt specifically referenced NBC News and how the broadcast is "an incredible asset to the company."  

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However, in the midst of doing so, he clearly couldn't ignore what was arguably the biggest elephant in the room; Ann Curry's recent "Today Show" departure.

On June 28^th, Ann Curry had announced via live broadcast that she was leaving "The Today Show."  Due to the network pinning their poor show ratings on her, she was paid to make an exit.

Greenblatt had the following to say regarding the former news anchor's highly publicized leave and the restructuring of the news broadcast, according to Hollywood Reporter:

"Shows go through transitions and they're always difficult.  I think everyone inside the news division took as much care as they possibly could (during the Today anchor) transition."

The network head then further explained his rationale on the anchor change and his personal feelings toward Ann Curry.

"Things leak and you have to go out and announce something that you weren't ready to announce. My heart goes out to everyone involved in that transition including Ann. I have no doubt that (Today) will rebound. I think everybody is really bullish on the future of it."

Currently, Ann Curry's title has been changed to "Today" anchor at large, with Savannah Guthrie as her replacement.  She can still be seen on "NBC Nightly News," "Dateline NBC," and "Rock Center With Brian Williams."