Matt Lauer May be the Cause of the 'Today Show' Ratings Fall

Days after rumors began circulating that TODAY Show Executive Producer Jim Bell will be replaced by Alexandra Wallace, senior vice president of NBC News, a new report claims that management may not be the problem after all.

The Daily News is reporting that "TV industry insiders say no amount of NBC executive reshuffling can save the embattled "Today" show - until its longtime co-host throws in the towel."

"This problem is not going to go away until Matt Lauer does," a prominent former NBC News exec told the Daily News on Tuesday. "He's great, but fairly or unfairly, his brand is damaged."

Lauer was blamed for the morning's shows ratings drop after co-host Ann Curry was fired in June. But, Bell defended Lauer and said that Curry's firing "was definitely not Matt's call."

Bell has been producing the show since 2005 and reportedly "led the campaign for Curry's removal from the show earlier this year and received much of the blame for the damage done by the transition," according to the New York Times.

A source close to the situation told Radar Online that Lauer is not taking the news of Bell's replacement too well.

"Matt Lauer is NOT happy that Jim Bell who had been the executive producer of the TODAY show since 2005 has been forced out," Radar Online reported. "Alexandra Wallace, who will be Bell's replacement, and Matt have never had a good working relationship. Matt doesn't like the fact that Alexandra is a big advocate of Ann Curry's."

The news comes after TODAY has been consistently beaten in the ratings by ABC's Good Morning America following a 16-year winning streak.

After NBC fired Curry, GMA viewership skyrocketed and kept beating "Today" in TV ratings.

"The fact that Bell is being forced out, and the timing of it during November sweeps shows how desperate NBC executives are for the TODAY show to get back to first place, and quickly," Radar Online reported.

Curry was rehired by NBC as a News National and International Correspondent/Anchor and "Today" Anchor at Large. Curry reports for all platforms of NBC News including "Today," "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," "Rock Center with Brian Williams," "Dateline," MSNBC, and all digital properties. Curry also serves as anchor for multiple NBC News primetime specials, regularly substitute anchors for "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" and reports for "Rock Center with Brian Williams."

"GMA" has been without its co-anchor Robin Roberts who is on medical leave for treatment of M.D.S., a rare blood and bone marrow disorder.

"You look at GMA and they've got it going," Radar reported. "They come across like a family, and the approach is appealing and feels fresh. They've got that morning TV chemistry, which the current regime at TODAY just seems to have let slip away."