After 15 years on the show, Curry was given a brief four minutes and twenty-three seconds to say goodbye to her audience.
"This is not easy to say but today is going to be my last morning as a regular co-host of 'Today,'" Curry said. "I will still be part of the 'Today' show family but I will have a new title and a new role. And this is not how I ever expected to leave this couch after fifteen years. But I am so grateful, especially to all of you who watch." Curry called viewers the "real 'Today' show family," saying, "I have loved you and I've wanted to show you the world."
Speaking of the network, Curry briefly described her new role as a national and international correspondent. "They are giving me some fancy new titles...we're going to go all over the world and all over this country...We're going to do great work I hope, and be given a chance to do great work, and these stories are going to air on all the platforms of NBC News."
"For all of you who saw me as a groundbreaker, I'm sorry I couldn't get the ball over the finish line, but man, I did try," she added.
Co-host Matt Lauer told Curry she has the "biggest heart in the news business," and he, Al Roker and Natalie Morales each shared a memorable moment from her career. Then, she was gone, and the show moved swiftly along.
While the network has not yet announced a replacement, Savannah Guthrie, who co-hosts the 9:00 a.m. hour on "Today," has reportedly been offered the job. Guthrie was conspicuously absent from Curry's departure.
Curry's exit came about one week after news broke that NBC News executives were planning to replace her. Early Thursday morning, Curry told USA Today that she was planning on announcing her departure on Thursday.
"Today" executive producer Jim Bell released a statement saying, "I know of only one journalist who in just a matter of years has travelled to Sudan six times, broken exclusive world news with top world leaders, and broadcast live from both the South Pole and Mount Kilimanjaro. Ann has quite literally reached amazing heights in her career, and with this new role, she will continue her intrepid climb bringing viewers her signature brand of humanitarian reporting."
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