NBC to replace ‘Days of Our Lives’ with midday network news offering

Amid a historic decision to move soap opera “Days of Our Lives” to streamer Peacock, NBC also announced it’s launching a new midday network news offering.

NBC moving ‘Days of Our Lives’ to Peacock https://t.co/TOKVrRbvhv #BroadcastNews #TVNews

— TVNewsMix (@TVNewsMix) August 4, 2022

“NBC News Daily” will debut in the “Days” timeslot, typically 1 p.m., noon central, in the fall of 2022 in most markets. In some mountain time zone markets, the show airs at 3 p.m. local time.

The new hourlong program will be anchored by Kate Snow, Aaron Gilchrist, Vicky Nguyen, Morgan Radford and other NBC talent.

“Daily” will focus on national and international news, but will also be structured so that local stations can cut away to local news at pre-planned moments.

It will also stream simultaneously on NBC News Now, which is free, and Peacock, itself a somewhat historic move given that network newscasts have largely not been made available to stream live outside of TV everywhere options available to viewers with existing pay TV packages.

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NBC did not release a logo or key art and did not respond to a request for imagery. 

In many markets, “Daily” will go head-to-head with ABC News’ “GMA3: What You Need to Know,” a midday offering that’s branded around “Good Morning America” (select mountain time zone stations appear to be a big exception to this assuming schedules remain the same).

The “GMA3” timeslot was previously occupied by other network programming, including soaps and talk shows. ABC then decided to launch a new talk show with Sara Haines and Michael Strahan (with Keke Palmer later joining the cast). It was originally known as “GMA Day” before changing names to “Strahan and Sara.” When Palmer joined the show, her first name was added to the end of the title. 

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic essentially sent the show into hiatus as ABC opted to use the hour to offer more news on the health crisis under the name “Pandemic: What You Need to Know.” That format would stick, leading to the current format and title.

Amy Robach anchors the show along with T.J. Holmes.

NBC, which already offers four hours under the “Today” banner (including one literally known as “Today 3rd Hour,” “Today III” or “Third Hour of Today”), did not opt to use that name for its new midday offering, instead using “Daily.”

“Daily” has already been used for former MSNBC show “MTP Daily” (which since moved to streaming under the name “Meet the Press Now“) and its newsletter “MSNBC Daily.” There was also previously a show titled “The Daily Rundown.”

It also happens to be in the name of “Access Daily,” the NBCUniversal-distributed syndicated talk show that’s a spinoff of “Access Hollywood” and airs on NBC-owned stations.

Other shows with that word in their names include the syndicated “The Daily Buzz” and “The Daily Blast Live,” the latter of which fills the afternoon schedule on stations, including NBC affiliates.

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As demonstrated by ABC’s broadcast, demand for midday network news is there. With more people working from home or in hybrid situations, these broadcasts could potentially attract audiences taking their lunch break or even having it on in the background as they work. When it was still on the air, “GMA Day” and its predecessors was marketed as a midday “escape.”

NBC’s strategy of putting the newscast on streaming also opens it up to smart device and browser-based viewing for those who do work in a more traditional office setting or who are on the go during the day.

NBC still has not announced final plans for what its owned stations will do to fill the hour left empty by “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” despite the fall season being a little over a month away. The “Days” announcement was accompanied by a note that those plans will be announced soon.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the shows that aired in the “GMA3: What You Need to Know” timeslot. The series that aired in that spot varied from market to market.