Savannah Guthrie has been off-air for weeks. The reason for her absence from the screen is simple: her mom Nancy disappeared from her home on Feb. 1.
An earlier report in Page Six stated she had taken a leave of absence and will not appear on the show for the “foreseeable future".
In these testing times for Savannah and her family, her colleagues on Today came out in full support for the anchor on the show.
“The entire show and network is rallying together in support of our beloved colleague and friend as we navigate this unimaginable time,” the source previously told the outlet.
Amid such an outpouring of support, a surge was reported in the Today show's ratings. In a latest report by Variety, it states viewership jumped significantly on the morning show as interest in the updates on Nancy's case continue to grow.
Nielsen, a firm which provides viewership data, compared the show's ratings from last year's same period.
It found that viewership rose by 19%, which is 517,000 additional viewers, for the five days ending February 20.
This notable increase is a consistent rating the Today show has recorded since early February, coinciding with the disappearance of Nancy.
But the report in Variety also pointed out that it's unclear whether this boost can wholly be attributed to the attention to Savannah's mom's case because, at the same time, coverage of the Winter Olympics was also underway.
The picture, however, is expected to get clear in the next ratings reports – that is what is driving the audience growth.