He’s a Today show institution, and on Monday, surrounded by his co-hosts, Al Roker celebrated his 45th anniversary at NBC News.
The beloved weatherman was showered with tributes from his Today family, including a video montage of top moments over his many years at NBC. Roker’s tenure at the company began in 1978 at an NBC-owned and operated station in Cleveland, Ohio. Roker has spent 22 years on the Today show.
Savannah Guthrie honored Roker, saying, “Al, my friend, you are the beating heart of this show.”
Hoda Kotb added, “The heart and the soul,” before revealing some eye-raising stats of his tenure at NBC News, including 7,047 wake-ups at 3:45 a.m., 27 Thanksgiving Day parades, and being on hand to cover 12 Olympics.
“I really am very fortunate. Nobody gets to be somewhere this long without friends and people who help you and a team behind you. Nobody does it by themselves,” said Roker. “It’s been a very good run,” he added.
Watched Roker’s tribute, which also included Today co-hosts Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones joining him on the couch, below.
We are celebrating TODAY’s Al Roker 45th anniversary at NBC! @alroker has had more than 7,000 wake-ups at 3:45am, 27 Thanksgiving Day parades, 13 Olympics and more! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/0qE98T77ri
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 11, 2023