U.S.

Chuck Todd Nabs 'Meet The Press' As David Gregory Exits NBC

After months of rumors, NBC has finally announced David Gregory will be stepping down as the host of "Meet The Press," to be replaced by Chuck Todd.

Chuck Todd Nabs 'Meet The Press' As David Gregory Exits NBC
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It's official — Chuck Todd will be taking over for David Gregory as the host of NBC's "Meet The Press," and it seems like Gregory's leaving NBC entirely.

CNN's Brian Stelter first reported Gregory's long-rumored exit from the Sunday show had arrived, citing anonymous sources who said NBC planned to formally announce the change soon.

Gregory then seemingly confirmed the news himself with these two tweets posted Thursday, which suggests the anchor is exiting not just "Meet the Press," but NBC altogether.

And in an official statement released an hour later, NBC News President Deborah Turness confirmed Todd will take over for Gregory on Sep. 7.

To host "Meet The Press," Todd will be leaving his current roll as NBC's chief White House correspondent and political director and stepping down as host of MSNBC's "The Daily Rundown." 

Gregory has been the face of "Meet the Press" for six years now, following the sudden death of the show's former host Tim Russert in 2008. 

Under Gregory, "Meet the Press" has seen a sizeable drop in ratings: the formerly top-rated Sunday show now routinely finishes third to CBS's "Face The Nation" and ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos."

The decline of "Meet The Press" prompted a flurry of rumors about Gregory's future with the show. Media outlets have been speculating for months about the anchor's departure.

And NBC's pushback against these rumors has been increasingly lukewarm in recent weeks. In fact, NBC's lackluster defense of Gregory's performance has drawn criticism from Fox News' Sunday show host Chris Wallace.

"It's unseemly, and I think they ought to either say 'He's our guy and we're sticking with him' or they ought to get rid of him. But they shouldn't put him in this limbo."

Politico notes NBC is hoping to capitalize on Todd's political credentials to revitalize the show.

"NBC is betting that Todd can infuse 'Meet the Press' with Russert's passion and credibility and once again turn Sunday morning into a sacred place for political discussion and debate."

Of course, we're still not sure where Gregory's planning to go after he leaves NBC — but those reports from a few weeks ago about a lunch meeting between Gregory and CNN president Jeff Zucker just got a lot more interesting.

This video contains images from Getty Images.