If Matt Lauer Leaves, Ryan Seacrest Could be Next ‘Today’ Show Host

Matt Lauer still has a year on his contract at the “Today” show, but many people are speculating that Lauer will leave at the end of 2012. If he does, NBC could bring in Ryan Seacrest to take his place.

The talk about Lauer’s replacement may be a little premature but according to the Wall Street Journal, NBC executives have been having meetings with Seacrest about how he could contribute to the morning show.

The WSJ reports that Ryan Seacrest met with “Today” show executive producer Jim Bell, NBC News President Steve Capus and senior vice president for marketing and communications, Lauren Kapp Tuesday to talk about the possible hosting gig.

The New York Daily News reports that “Today” is the number one rated morning show. So it looks like NBC executives are just planning ahead at the moment to make sure that they can keep their ratings if Lauer decides to depart when his contract expires in December 2012.

Would you watch “Today” if it was hosted by Ryan Seacrest?

Seacrest already has a good relationship with NBCUniversal. Seacrest hosts a daily show on E! as well as several red carpet events from the network. Seacrest’s contract with NBCUniversal also expires in 2012.

Do you think the American Idol host would make a good replacement for Matt Lauer?