Megyn Kelly Is Leaving Fox News For NBC

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She was at Fox News for 12 years.

Theo Wargo / Getty Images

Fox News' anchor Megyn Kelly has accepted a new role at NBC News and will be making the move soon, NBC announced Tuesday.

She will be the anchor of a new one hour daytime program, the New York Times reported first. The exact time of the show has not yet been decided, NBC said, but it will air Monday through Friday. She will also anchor a “new Sunday evening news magazine show,” NBC said.

“Megyn is an exceptional journalist and news anchor, who has had an extraordinary career” Chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group Andrew Lack said in the statement. “She’s demonstrated tremendous skill and poise, and we’re lucky to have her.”

Kelly was at Fox News for about 12 years and created and anchored the Kelly File. On Fox News he was the second-most popular host on cable news after Bill O'Reilly, also of Fox.

Her contract is due to expire this summer, and Fox News did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News' request for comment about whether they will be releasing Kelly from her contract before then.

She became a household name during the election due to her tough questioning of Donald Trump during a GOP primary debates, and his subsequent attacks of her character and physical appearance.

21st Century Fox offered Kelly more than $20 million a year to stay after her contract expires, the New York Times reported. NBC News and other rival cable news organizations told Kelly they could not match Fox's offer. It is unclear how much Kelly was offered by NBC, but the Wall Street Journal reported that her current salary at Fox is around $15 million a year.

Kelly is a second major loss for the network over the past few months, following the exit of Fox's founding chairman Roger Ailes, who was accused of sexual harassment by at least 20 women, including Kelly. The accusations came to lights after Kelly's fellow Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit against the powerful network chairman over the summer. Her accusations were a key point in Ailes' ousting from Fox.

In her recently published memoir “Settle For More” Kelly discussed her decision to come forward about Ailes' treatment of her, and suggested that she was looking for a job that would give her more time away from the combative environment of breaking political news, and more time to spend with her three young children.

NBC said Tuesday that Kelly has signed a “multi-year agreement” that ties her to her weekday and Sunday shows, as well as contributions to breaking news, political, and event coverage. More details on her coverage will be announced in the coming months, the network said.

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